Facts and Figures

IOM Member State since 1988 Capital: Manila Population (2011): 94.9 million Area: 300,000 sq km Languages: Pilipino, English Currency: Philippine Peso (PHP) GDP per Capita PPP (2010): USD 3,969 HDI Rank (2011): 112 of 187 Remittances (2011 estimate): USD 23,026 million Net Migration Rate (2010-2015): -1.7 migrants /1,000 population Immigrants (2010): 0.5% Women as a Percentage of Immigrants (2010): 51.1% Population under 15 (2011): 35% Adult HIV Prevalence (2009): <0.1%

Additional Resources International Migration Law Database National Instruments: Philippines Sources and Definitions

Latest News

• IOM, Partners Launch Trainings as Philippines Labour Department Rolls Out Campaign Against Illegal Recruitment and Trafficking
• IOM Turns over Refurbished Health Stations for Return Communities in Philippines
• Disadvantaged Filipino Youngsters from Migrant Families Graduate with IOM Help
• [VIDEO] Challenges of Migration in Asia Pacific: IOM shares its views on migration issues
• Canada Funds IOM Storm Relief in Southern Philippines

Overview

IOM established its office in the Philippines in 1975. In 1986, IOM was granted privileges and immunities in the Philippines comparable to those of UN agencies. In 1988, the Philippines became an IOM Member State – among the first Member States in Asia, with Manila as one of the first regional IOM offices in late 1996.

In 2003, IOM Philippines' privileges and immunities were updated for the then distinct entities of the MRF (Mission with Regional Functions) and MAC (Manila Administrative Center) – restating and retaining endorsement for programming and representation functions of the MRF and endorsing the internal service functions of the MAC.

The Manila Administrative Centre provides global support in the areas of finance, human resources management, information technology, staff security, project tracking, and health claims processing, among others.

Current Vacancies in IOM Philippines

Migration and Development

Improving Knowledge on Remittance Corridors and Enhancing Development through Inter-Regional Dialogue and Pilot Projects in South East Asia and Europe (with special focus on the Philippines and Indonesia). This project aims to promote the link between remittances and national development in South-East Asia (SEA) and provide support to the European Union's (EU) on going efforts to manage migration challenges and promote development in South East Asian (SEA) countries. This project began in 2007 and is on its last quarter of implementation.

Key components of this project include:

• Comprehensive survey-based research studies on four remittance corridors namely Italy–Philippines, Netherlands–Indonesia, Malaysia–Philippines and Malaysia–Indonesia;
• The facilitation of Policy Dialogues for Italy–Philippines and Netherlands–Indonesia remittance corridors and
• Implementation of pilot projects to further strengthen the link between remittance and development in the Philippines and Indonesia.

Pilot projects have focused on enhancing financial literacy among migrants and their family members in the Philippines and Indonesia while the project has also supported Indonesian diaspora in the Netherlands to form a diaspora development platform.

UNDP-Spain MDG Achievement Fund for Thematic Window on Youth, Employment and Migration. The Joint Programme on Alternatives to Migration: Decent Jobs for Filipino Youth developed by UN Country Team agencies ILO, IOM, UNICEF, and UNFPA and funded by the MDG Achievement Fund supports the Philippine government's vision of productive and competitive youth by 2010.

The two expected outcomes of the Joint Programme are:

• Improved policy coherence and implementation on youth, employment and migration through full stakeholder participation, and
• Increased access to decent work for poor young women and men through public-private partnerships, more inclusive basic education and life skills, career guidance including on safe migration, vocational training, and entrepreneurship.

The programme targets disadvantaged youth in provinces of high poverty incidence, high migration pressure and low school cohort survival rates, and where the Millenium Development Goals are least likely to be achieved, particularly Masbate, Antique, Agusan del Sur, and Maguindanao. IOM Philippines' specific role in this project will be to support the National Reintegration Center of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), through technical capacity building activities.

IOM also aims to further enhance the link between migration and development through the establishment of mechanisms to provide more information on remittance corridors, policies, and realities, while also implementing activities to examine ways to channel remittances toward local and national development.

To this end, IOM shall:

• Facilitate multisectoral interaction by convening Stakeholders' Series of Conferences and Consultations at the national and local levels
• Assist in the development and design of the Framework and Guidelines (F&G) on integrating migration in development planning in the Philippines
• Roll out and test the F&G through capacity building and technical assistance activities in Naga City
• Support the drafting of the Naga City local development plan for 2011-2012
• Draft and disseminate a process documentation paper on mainstreaming migration in local development planning using the Naga City experience

Projects

• Improving Knowledge on Remittance Corridors and Enhancing Development through Inter-Regional Dialogue and Pilot Projects in South East Asia and Europe (with special focus on the Philippines and Indonesia
• UNDP-Spain MDG Achievement Fund for Thematic Window on Youth, Employment and Migration
• Mainstreaming Migration in Local Development Plans

Facilitating Migration

Canadian Orientation Abroad. The Philippines remains the largest single caseload for temporary foreign workers migrating to Canada. IOM provides cultural orientation to these caseloads, predominantly live-in caregivers and independent migrants as well as to other migrant caseloads bound for Canada. On average a total of three orientation sessions are facilitated each week with approximately 35 participants in each session, with sessions led by Canadian trainers.

Self-Payer Ticketing. For a service fee, IOM Philippines renders ticketing services for first-time migrants bound for Canada and Australia (on immigrant visas), at special airline rates.

Documents Verification for NZIS. IOM Philippines carries out documents' verification activities for migrants bound for New Zealand, as requested, as per IOM-NZIS global agreements.

Third Party Evaluator for AINP. As per IOM-Alberta global agreement, IOM Philippines carries out documents' verification on behalf of AINP, and relevant to provincial nominee applicants currently in Alberta.

Japanese-Filipino Children Project. In cooperation with IOM Tokyo, IOM Philippines co-implements this project geared towards promoting the welfare and human rights of Japanese-Filipino children, and to building a sustainable migration/voluntary return scheme for Japanese Filipino Children who acquired status of eligibility/ Japanese citizenship, through building a multi-sectoral network and assisting model/ pilot cases in the realm of cultural orientation support, language training, and assisted integration.

Projects

• Canadian Orientation Abroad
• Self-Payer Ticketing
• Documents Verification for NZIS
• Third Party Evaluator for AINP
• Japanese-Filipino Children Project

Regulating Migration

Return and Reintegration Assistance to Trafficked Victims in Japan (RATVJ). In cooperation with IOM Tokyo, IOM Philippines assists in the return operations and reintegration assistance and support of Filipino trafficked victims in Japan. This programme is on its seventh year of implementation.

Return and Reintegration Assistance to Victims of Trafficking in Syria. With funding from the European Union and in cooperation with IOM Damascus, IOM Philippines arranges the return of trafficking victims, while providing airport assistance and a reintegration grant. IOM Philippines also endorses beneficiaries to a local NGO or the Department of Social Welfare and Development for their shelter and immediate needs.

Voluntary Returns of Filipino Nationals. In cooperation with respective IOM offices in destination countries, IOM Philippines, as requested, provides arrival reception assistance to Filipino returnees.

Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP). IOM Philippines assists IOM London pertinent to the reintegration activities of Filipino returnees under the VARRP.

Promoting Voluntary Return through Intensive Counseling in Germany (ZIRF). Upon the request of IOM Germany, IOM Philippines provides return-related information (specific to the Philippines) to assist in the migration counseling conducted by the Centre for the Provision of Information on Return Support (ZIRF) for possible returnees from Germany.

Family Reunification. In support of MRF Washington's family reunification programme for trafficking victims, IOM Philippines provides pre-departure support and assistance to dependents in the Philippines of victims of trafficking in the US.

Global Assistance Fund (GAF). Under this program managed by IOM Headquarters, IOM Philippines renders operational support for Victims of Trafficking in the Philippines who are returned to their countries of origin, and Filipino Victims of Trafficking in other countries who are returned to the Philippines.

Projects

• Return and Reintegration Assistance to Trafficked Victims in Japan
• Return and Reintegration Assistance to Trafficked Victims in Syria
• Voluntary Returns of Filipino Nationals
• Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme
• Promoting Voluntary Return through Intensive Counseling in Germany
• Family Reunification

Forced Migration

Emergency Transit Mechanism. In cooperation with the Philippine Government and UNHCR, IOM Philippines has finalized a Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Emergency Transit Mechanism in the Philippines, for refugees from other Southeast Asian countries, pending their onward resettlement to a third county. Upon receipt of approval for resettlement to a third country, IOM Philippines, in cooperation with UNHCR Manila, will assist in the finalization of travel arrangements and provide assistance on departure modalities.

Typhoon Emergency Response Programme. This programme began in September 2009 in response to a series of typhoons that struck the Philippines in the last quarter of 2009. In December 2010, IOM Philippines turned over the last batch of transitional shelters for displaced victims of Ondoy, also providing them with livelihood assistance.

IOM Philippines in 2011 is turning its attention to areas affected by Super Typhoon Megi, which made landfall in the country in October 2010. Thousands of people, particularly in Isabela province were rendered homeless when their houses were totaly or partially damaged. The typhoon also destroyed harvests as well as fishing boats and nets critical to the local people's daily existence. IOM will provide shelter repair and livelihood rehabilitation support to these families who were most affected by Super Typhoon Megi.

IOM's project activities will not only facilitate immediate re-establishment of humane living conditions through repair and rebuilding or shelters, it will likewise take on community participatory activities that will impart lessons on disaster risk reduction through "build back better" approaches and enhancement of shelter repair and construction practices. Key components of this programme include:

• Support to the Philippine Government in rolling out and coordinating response efforts within the Camp Coordination and Camp Management and Non Food Item (NFI)sector
• Upgrading of evacuation centres and provision of shelter repair kits
• Deployment of mobile health teams to provide immediate health-related assistance to vulnerable communities within the affected areas, and
• Information Management: Gathering and sharing information on the conditions within evacuation centres.

Humanitarian Action Plan for Conflict-Affected Areas of Mindanao (HAP). The Humanitarian Action Plan for Conflict-Affected Areas of Mindanao (HAP) supports the Philippine government’s efforts to provide for the needs of the displaced and vulnerable populations including those returning to their original communities following a relative improvement of the security situation in many areas. The HAP is targeting about 447,213 conflict-affected persons in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Lanao del Norte.

From previous emergency relief efforts, the HAP now focuses on long-term development programmes in Mindanao. IOM has submitted four projects which will allow IOM to continue assisting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and return communities through construction of essential Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities and conduct of hygiene promotion activities; refurbishment of critical health facilities in the communities and conduct of health training and health kit distribution; provision of emergency shelter and livelihood and upgrading of basic community facilities in return communities; and strengthening of information management mechanisms for coordinate life-saving interventions.

• Assisting sustainable IDP return in communities of Central Mindanao
• Strengthening information management mechanisms for coordinated life saving response to conflict-affected areas in Mindanao
• WASH support to vulnerable IDP families in the return sites in Central Mindanao
• Health assistance to the IDPs and return families in the conflict-affected provinces in Mindanao

Repatriation of OFWs from Middle East, North Africa Crises. IOM Manila received requests for assistance from the Philippine Government with regards to the repatriation of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) affected by the recent crises in Egypt and Libya. With support from the Overseas Worker's Welfare Administration (OWWA), IOM Manila has provided reception assistance to hundreds of OFWs.

Projects

• Emergency Transit Mechanism
• Typhoon Emergency Response Programme
• Humanitarian Action Plan for Conflict-Affected Areas of Mindanao (HAP)
• Repatriation of OFWs from Middle East, North Africa Crises

Last updated:
Main text: October 2011
Facts and figures: May 2012