PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III will meet with the Filipino Community (FilCom) at the Rizqun International Hotel as part of the busy schedule of his 2-day State Visit here on June 1 to 2. Government records show an estimated 18,589 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who are with their families living in Brunei as of December last year.
The Philippine Overseas Labor Officer (POLO) from the Philippine Embassy in Brunei Darussalam said that the total number of OFWs and their families living here decreased from22,000 in 2008 to 18,000 in 2010. The decrease, POLO said, was due to the closure of the local garments industry.
The POLO also noted that temporary migrants comprise the bulk of these OFWs or 17,657 out of the total number of migrants. Filipino workers here are mostly skilled workers that include masons, carpenters, technicians, electricians, plumbers and heavy equipment operators. They comprise the 30 per cent of the total number of OFWs here.
They are followed by those who are categorized as semi-skilled who are working as waiters and waitresses, sewers, sales assistants, cashiers, janitors and transport drivers. The group is around 29 per cent of the total number of OFWs while the remaining 18 and 17 per cent were composed of professionals and household workers, respectively. Household workers include domestic
helpers, family drivers and gardeners.
Filipino workers in Brunei enjoy a satisfactory condition and are being treated well by their employers and given value for their skills, dependability, work attitude and loyalty. (PCOO)
