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Tuesday, December 06, 2005
So: Home court disadvantage
By Jocy L. So
Unraveling
IN SPORTS it is called "home court advantage," the ability of athletes to perform exceptionally, and at times extremely surprisingly, well when cheered on by their hometown crowd. Team Philippines is currently basking in the effects of home court advantage, surging forward in the gold medal and overall medal tally of the Southeast Asian Games, way ahead of second place Thailand, which might have prompted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's comment about supposed rampant cheating in the games.
The Philippines has never topped the medal tally in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games before, but now we are poised to do just that as our athletes win in everything, from diving (with Davao's Sheila Mae Perez already with 3 golds), to cycling, tennis, wushu, and swimming. Not bad for a nation which is losing in other aspects.
Consider the number of hospitals that have shut down due to the exodus of those in the medical profession, namely doctors and nurses, to greener pastures abroad. According to Dr. Antonio Chang of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines in an article in the Inquirer, there are now only 700 private hospitals in the Philippines, a mere 40% compared to the number five years ago. Chang's own Masbate hospital only has 1 doctor per 50 beds instead of the 1 doctor per 10-bed requirement.
Where are the doctors going? To nursing schools. They are willing to leave practices behind, say sayonara to careers that began when they spent years toiling in medical schools, just to chase a shimmering dream of an OFW oasis.
More and more students are enrolling in nursing schools, but only a fraction of these will opt to stay in the Philippines to work. Every week, I open the wanted ad section and see postings for nurses to the US, UK, New Zealand, Australia. From 2000-2003, around 51,850 nurses have left the country.
Many of my own high school students are contemplating taking up nursing, not primarily because they want to care for sick people, but because they either want to go abroad and earn salaries in one month what it would take nurses working in Philippine hospitals a year to amass, or because their parents and families are pressuring them to take that course and get the heck out of our country.
It's not just the medical field that may lose its brightest. According to a report, the US may need around 200,000 teachers every year. No need to know who will be lining up NAIA's departure gates along with the nurses soon.
Brain drain is hardly an old issue. In the 1970s, many professionals left the country to work abroad as engineers in the Middle East and nurses in the US. The trend continued throughout the 80s and 90s, as Filipinos in the droves sought employment in Japan, Hong Kong, and Europe. And throughout the years, there had been many reports and articles made about Filipinos doing extremely well abroad. Whether they'd be entertainers or company employees or hospital workers, they are contributing to the well being of foreign economies with their creativity, talents, and sheer sweat.
Let's just throw out home court advantage out of the window! Unlike our SEA Games athletes, Filipino workers seem to perform better abroad than when they are at home. They become very diligent, even putting in 10-12 hours at work; they become more productive and efficient.
According to Ayala Corporation Jaime Zobel de Ayala II, one very successful Filipino who is succeeding in his field perfectly fine here at home, the Philippines can compete in the global economy through its "most important resource--our people--who embody our competitive advantage in the world today. Our demographic profile combined with the skill of our workforce, present a compelling proposition to the global economy." Can we really compete globally if many of our educated, skilled, and experienced workers are leaving the country? If one, out of every three Filipino, as a recent survey showed, wants to migrate to a foreign country?
Last month, one of my closest friends left to teach math in Brooklyn, New York. She is a great math teacher, beloved by her students and respected by colleagues. Her family is already in the US. No one saw her decision to work there as a "bad decision." Though many are sad by her leaving, no one told her it'd be better for her to teach here. To many, this is a smart move. Go abroad and earn a lot. Don't stay here; you'd rot in poverty and hopelessness. Why teach in a hot Philippine classroom with a paltry salary, when you can become rich enough to buy a car after a couple of years teaching in the US?
For me, this is the really sad part about the exodus of Filipinos abroad. Imagine if say, Sheila Mae Perez or Lee Van Corteza decide to compete for Thailand instead of the Philippines during the SEA Games because of higher pay and greater training opportunities. Do you think Filipinos will cheer them on? Do you think they'd get the adulation they are currently receiving? No.
Unlike our athletes who get cheered on by the hometown crowd when they compete here, our workers are getting the opposite. Our workers are pushed by others to jump ship, to go to the other team, to give their best, their all somewhere else, anywhere else but home. And those who decide to stay here despite better financial opportunities abroad? Their drive or ambition, common sense, and sanity are being questioned. Our workers do not experience home court advantage here.
No pay, no encouragement, and no gratitude from those they serve. No wonder many would desire to work somewhere else.
(December 6, 2005 issue)
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