(April 12, 2012, Jakarta Globe)--Ethiopia isn’t the first place you would look for clues about Asia’s economies. Nor does Jose Rabacal, a 29-year-old Filipino sipping beer at an Addis Ababa airport cafe, think he’s a human economic indicator.
But he is, and so are his 10 compatriots as they bided their time recently during a multihour layover. Each moved to Africa from the Philippines for opportunities that leaders failed to offer at home. Each left behind a family they see once a year, if they are lucky.
“I haven’t seen my three kids in 14 months,” says Rabacal, who works in mining in South Africa. “But the money I make here is more than I could ever hope to make at home. It would be nice if my government thought about the sacrifices we Filipinos, we Asians, are forced to make.”
The good news is that the Philippines now has a president who not only gets the problem, but is doing something about it.
Since taking office in 2010, Benigno Aquino has homed in on the reasons why the Philippines remains a junk credit. He attacked corruption, got a handle on public expenditure, improved infrastructure and worked to boost competitiveness. These days, the Philippines can raise funds almost as cheaply as investment-grade Italy.
Yet the issue of remittances from expatriate earnings has long been as ignored in Manila as it is misunderstood. It’s the human equivalent of China’s vast currency reserves. The conventional wisdom is that hoarding $3.2 trillion of cash is a strength, the ultimate rainy-day fund. In reality, it’s a weakness. The reserves are a trap; if China sells them, markets crash. Read more from Jakarta Globe »
But he is, and so are his 10 compatriots as they bided their time recently during a multihour layover. Each moved to Africa from the Philippines for opportunities that leaders failed to offer at home. Each left behind a family they see once a year, if they are lucky.
“I haven’t seen my three kids in 14 months,” says Rabacal, who works in mining in South Africa. “But the money I make here is more than I could ever hope to make at home. It would be nice if my government thought about the sacrifices we Filipinos, we Asians, are forced to make.”
The good news is that the Philippines now has a president who not only gets the problem, but is doing something about it.
Since taking office in 2010, Benigno Aquino has homed in on the reasons why the Philippines remains a junk credit. He attacked corruption, got a handle on public expenditure, improved infrastructure and worked to boost competitiveness. These days, the Philippines can raise funds almost as cheaply as investment-grade Italy.
Yet the issue of remittances from expatriate earnings has long been as ignored in Manila as it is misunderstood. It’s the human equivalent of China’s vast currency reserves. The conventional wisdom is that hoarding $3.2 trillion of cash is a strength, the ultimate rainy-day fund. In reality, it’s a weakness. The reserves are a trap; if China sells them, markets crash. Read more from Jakarta Globe »
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