OVERSEAS FILIPINOS. Manolo Tibe, Overseas Emigrant Services Officer II of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, briefs officials and employees of Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental on their mandate during a forum at the city hall on Monday (June 26, 2023). Tibe said the country is losing many teachers and professionals to the Exchange Visitor Program of the US government granting temporary employment (PNA photo by Mary Judaline Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) on Monday said the Philippines is losing many of its teachers and professionals to the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) of the United States.
Manolo Tibe, CFO Overseas Emigrant Services Officer II, in an interview with local reporters here, said the dilemma is brought about by attractive salaries offered to public and private school teachers who are qualified to avail of the program.
The EVP is a cultural and exchange program that provides Filipinos an opportunity to work and learn at the same time in another country, like the US.
“We know for a fact that our teachers do not have this (much) salary that is as competitive as with other countries,” Tibe said, adding that this is the main reason why many teachers avail of this kind of program even if it does not guarantee permanent employment.
He said many teachers who are given the J1 Visa for temporary employment in the US usually land a three-year contract with schools that pay higher salaries than what they are earning in the Philippines.
Most of these overseas workers preferred abroad are Senior High School teachers in the STEM or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics strand, he added.
“We are losing them to the J1 program, (but) fortunately they are required to return to the country after completing the program,” Tibe said.
The teachers or any other overseas Filipinos employed under the EVP are not “permanent workers” in any particular country, hence they must come home.
Meanwhile, CFO chairman Romulo Arugay, in the same interview, clarified that the EVP is not a “stepping stone” for permanent employment abroad.
He noted that teachers who are accepted to this program usually want to remain in the US for good, but their contract stipulates that they need to return to their country of origin.
“They are bound to return to the Philippines to share their knowledge and expertise (that they) learned in the United States of America,” he said. (PNA)
