ABSTRACT
Globalization is both “real” and “imagined.” It is real, in the sense that millions of migrants leave the Philippines for destinations beyond their country of birth. From Austria to Zambia, Filipino workers actively participate in nearly 200 labor markets. Most significant, however, is that advents in telecommunications systems are revolutionizing patterns and processes of international labor migration. Consider, for example, the recent initiatives of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. In 2006 the POEA launched the aptly named Global OFW Mapping and Profiling Program (GOMPP), a system designed to facilitate the monitoring of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) abroad, as well as to identify particular skills that are projected to be in demand in the global market. Concurrently, the POEA has also initiated the eServices Delivery Infrastructure (e-SDI). Building on recent advances in information technology capabilities, the POEA is making it easier to electronically submit worker contracts, thereby reducing the processing time of employment contracts. Previously, the POEA required 4 hours to process a single worker; under the e-SDI system, the processing time has been reduced to just 5 minutes. And in 2006, over 80 percent
of all licensed recruitment agencies deploying land-based workers were using the electronic submission facility.2
