Deployed OFWs top 1.2-M mark

WITH demand for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) rising, deployment figures in the first half of 2023 have breached the 1.2-million mark, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

DMW Undersecretary Patricia M. Caunan disclosed this in a media forum, adding it is 123.39 percent higher than the deployment figures from January to June last year.

“At the rate we are going, we might reach 2.4 to 2.5 million,” Caunan said.

The total deployment figure for the entire 2022 was 1.2 million.

DMW Secretary Maria Susan V. Ople attributed the surge in deployment to the “reopening of the Saudi market and other new labor markets.”

Most of the vacancies, she said, are for construction, hotel and restaurants, and Information Technology (IT). “The demand is very huge now because different countries, especially the

Gulf Region, are embarking on economic diversification programs,” Ople said.

“And in Europe, they need hotel and restaurant workers because they are really feeling the revenge of tourism,” she explained.

On another matter, Ople said they have yet to resume talks with the Kuwaiti government for the lifting of the suspension on the issuance of entry visas for OFWs.

“Right now, there is no formal invitation to resume talks,” she added.

Kuwait imposed the suspension in May due to Manila’s alleged violations of its bilateral labor agreement with Kuwaiti authorities— among others, providing shelter for OFWs and searching for runaways without involving state institutions.

Kuwait was one of the top destinations for OFWs together with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Qatar. Samuel P. Medenilla

HIGH PRICES, MORE THAN PANDEMIC, SCARE PINOYS

Continued from A1 ing well-organized shelves, “easily find what I need,” “promotions are clearly signaled,” and “paying for products is quick.”

3 groups of shoppers

MEANWHILE , the Shopperscope 2023 report also identified three distinct groups of Filipino shoppers: Struggling or those who find themselves unable to cover their expenses; the Managing, who always find ways to make both ends meet; and the Comfortable who are the “least constrained” when it comes to their budgets and are able to set aside extra money for savings.

According to the report, the Struggling “come from all walks of life but find themselves unable to cover their expenses.” This group has the biggest household, comprising five to six members.

“The Struggling are foremost concerned about rising prices and another pandemic happening,” the report said.

Meanwhile, the report said compared to last year, the Managing group, which finds ways to make ends meet, now see their financial situation as “stable and may have even gotten slightly better.”

It said the Managing shoppers have an average of three to four members.

“The Managing shoppers are concerned about the same things that Struggling shoppers are—Rising prices and another pandemic happening,” the study noted.

Meanwhile, the Comfortable

Continued from A1 mographics.

“As the country is undergoing a demographic transition, the country will need to work towards demographic resilience: the quality or state of being able to adapt and thrive amid demographic changes,” Joudane said.

According to UNFPA, demographic dividend refers to economic growth resulting from changes in a population’s structure and characteristics.

Currently, it explained, the declining fertility rate of the Philippines would result in a window of opportunity where the country has a productive population that is larger than its dependent population.

However, it said the demographic dividend is not automatic. Therefore, “the country will have to make the right investments and policy decisions in order for it to reap its benefits by investing in people throughout their life course.”

Joudane said the demographic dividend could be a “powerful force.”

In order to reap its benefits; however, she said, “We need to ensure the rights of people—especially those most left behind—and provide access to quality education, health care, and employment opportunities. We need to also address gender inequality and other injustices that limit people from reaching their full potential.”

(Full story here: businessmirror.com. ph/2023/07/12/making-the-right-decisions-unfpa-citesbenefits-of-declining-phl-fertility-rate/)

Covid-19 insurance claims dip

80%—IC group is the “least constrained” with budgets, said the report.

“They have extra for savings and are in stable to improving financial state compared to last year,” the report said.

“While the Struggling and Managing have the same concerns, the Comfortable are not only concerned about the Rising prices of goods. They are concerned about their health as well as their financial security for the future,” the study emphasized.

‘Sari-sari’ stores

ACCORDING to Kantar, sari-sari stores continue to be the “FMCG channel of choice for Filipinos.”

“Buying in sari-sari stores remains uneventful and a regular trip for the majority of Filipinos and they are doing so in increased frequency, totaling 212 trips in 2023, up 5 percent from the year before. Almost all households, 99.7 percent, shop in their neighborhood sari-sari stores, which are usually five to 10 minutes away from their homes,” Kantar said.

Moving forward, Obana said “brands must be able to win Filipinos in that ‘Moment of Truth’ across retail channels by communicating the value that their products offer and why they need to make it into the shopper basket” with various concerns and a fixed FMCG budget.

Kantar said the survey was mounted at the end of February this year and it was finished in April 2023.

The findings were released in June 2023.

Continued from A1 number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in 2022’s second semester is only 287,229.

IC noted this was a sharp decline from the recorded number of Covid-19 cases in the second half of 2021, which was 1.11 million.

The data showed Covid-related claim payouts made by life insurance companies amounted to P987 million, while HMOs paid out P483 million in Covid-related claims for the second half of 2022. IC said mutual benefit associations (MBAs) and non-life insurers paid out a total of P33 million in Covid-related claims for the said period.

A total of 124 respondent companies participated in the Commission’s survey on Covid19-related claims in the second half of 2022.

In particular, 28 out of 32 licensed life insurers, 43 out of 54 non-life insurers, 29 out of 33 MBAs, and 24 out of 29 HMOs, participated in the survey.

The IC said its semestral surveys covered regulated entities regarding their Covid-related claims payouts since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

Based on the Commission’s surveys, the insurance industry has paid out P22.36 billion in Covid-related claims from 2020 to 2022.

Based on the Insurance Commission’s surveys, Covid-related claims paid amounted to P3.89 billion in 2020; P12.82 billion in 2021; and P5.65 billion in 2022.