‘Philippines proves migration can be useful’

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has defeated the notion that migration is bad with Filipino migrants having been useful additions to host countries, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.

“Quite the opposite… and we did this with facts and not frightful fantasies of job losses when no local wanted those kinds of jobs,” Locsin said in a speech at the diplomatic reception for the 121st anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday.

“We did it with reason by showing that migrants have been useful… not fear but facts shaped our perception and guided our actions. We have shown that migration can work for all,” he said.

For over 40 years, the Philippines, according to Locsin, has pushed for migration to be mainstreamed into the United Nations agenda because it is about people fleeing states or the failure of states and people seeking the shelter and safety that only states can provide.

“We were able to fulfill that mandate with the adoption of the Global Compact for Migration,” he added.

The Global Compact for Migration took two years of difficult negotiations over complex issues and met strong opposition.

Locsin said the Philippines persevered in the confidence that decency would prevail and that from the very start, the country declared that the compact must be anchored on decency.

“There are many ways by which states can regulate the migration process; but only one way to treat migrants: and that is with decency. Because we are all migrants one way or another – from birth through many changes, often profound, in our lives; always seeking a place of greater safety and contentment in ourselves; in a country – of our birth or another. A man without country is cursed,” he added.

In December, the Philippines joined 163 countries in adopting the United Nations Global Compact for Migration, known as the Marrakech Compact, to set in place a voluntary international framework that will manage migration and provide decent treatment for millions of migrants from all over the world.

The landmark Global Compact for Migration was adopted by leading representatives from 164 governments at an international conference in Marrakesh, Morocco that will help “prevent suffering and chaos.”

The adoption of the Compact coincided with the 70th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document which is central to the pact, to help “prevent suffering and chaos.”