Sanctions on OFWs will not affect Philippine economy

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Senior Filipino officials believe that the recent sanctions imposed by Taiwan will not have any significant impact on the Philippine economy. Taiwan has imposed a hiring freeze against overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) after a fisherman Hung Shih-cheng was killed in disputed waters.

“Imposing economic sanctions on the Philippines might not necessarily be in Taiwan’s favor, and the Philippine economy might not be hurt as much as we expect,” Taiwan News quoted Gordon Sun, director of a macroeconomic forecasting center.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz says there are only around 2,500 Filipinos deployed monthly [to Taiwan] hence imposing sanctions like the OFWs back home would do more harm to Taiwan’s economy than to the Philippines.

Baldoz confirmed that around 85,000 OFWs are working in Taiwan, a mere 0.0085 percent of the estimated 10 million Filipino workers around the world. She said eliminating Filipino workers could have an adverse affect on Taiwan’s economy.

“I don’t think this will be very significant economically. Investments or trade could be delayed, but that’s just it. This is not something we will lose sleep about,” agreed University of Asia and the Pacific senior economist Victor Abola.

“What is happening now is a political reaction of the Taiwanese government… It’s an issue that will stay as long as there will be political clamor for it. Businesswise, Taiwanese traders and businessmen have long kept relationships with other countries which their government has locked horns with. A lot of them still do business in China,” Abola added.