Philippine Studies
Philippine Studies
Philippine Studies
Emma Porio
http://www.philippinestudies.net
Fri June 27 13:30:20 2008
emma porio
Global Householding,
Gender, and Filipino
Migration: A
Preliminary Review
Utilizing data from the National Statistics Office’s Family Income and
Expenditure Survey (NSO-FIES) and three case studies, this article argues
that overseas labor migration inserts households into a globalized life
that reconfigures patterns of “household making” through remittances
and income mobilization activities. In turn, these income/remittance
patterns and the mobilization of reproductive labor have changed the
ways households left behind in the Philippines organize child care/elderly
care, household maintenance, and resource mobilization within and
across households. The article concludes with insights gained in utilizing
the household as a unit of analysis in examining the interfaces and
interconnections between global-local processes and Filipino migration.
Permanent - Immigrants
or legal permanent residents
abroad whose stay does not
depend on work contracts.
Temporary - Persons
whose stay overseas is
employment-related and
expected to return at the end
of their contracts.
Irregular - Those not
properly documented or
without valid residence or
work permits.
Nonremittance- Remittance-
Receiving HHS Receiving HHs
HH Head Sex
HH Head Age
15-24 3% 2%
25-39 35% 28%
40-59 44% 45%
60 and above 17% 25%
Single 4% 4%
Married 83% 78%
Widowed 12% 15%
Separated/Divorced 2% 3%
HH Head Education
HH Head Occupation
Food
Lower income Higher Lower
Higher income Lower Higher
Alcohol
Lower income Higher Lower
Higher income Lower Higher
Light, fuel, and water
Lower income Higher Lower
Higher income Lower Higher
Transportation Lower Higher
Household operation
Lower income No difference
Higher Income Lower Higher
Personal care
Lower income Lower Higher
Higher income Lower Higher
Clothing and footwear Higher Lower
Education Higher Lower
Recreation No difference
Health Care Lower Higher
Durables Lower Higher
Nondurables Higher Lower
House rent/housing Lower Higher
House repairs Higher Lower
Occasions Higher Lower
Nuclear Households 29
Nuclear ever since 16 2 with maids
Nuclear with husband’s mother’s support 2
2 cases from in-
Nuclear with husband’s in-law’s support 4
law’s HH to nuclear
Nuclear with both sides’ support 1
Nuclear with external support, subtotal 7
From husband’s mother’s HH to nuclear 3 1 with maid
No support from
From husband’s in-laws’ HH to nuclear 3
parent-in-law
From extended to nuclear, subtotal 6
Extended Households 11
From nuclear to husband’s mother’s HH 4
From nuclear to husband’s in-laws’ HH 2
From nuclear to extended, subtotal 6
From husband’s in-laws to his side 1
With husband’s family of orientation ever since 2
1 case where
husband got
With husband’s in-laws ever since 2 expelled from in-
laws’ residence, but
children remained
Extended ever since, subtotal 5
Total 40
232
a cook in
the Royal
Caribbean
cruise
Notes
This is a revised version of a paper presented at the International Conference on Population and
Development in Asia: Critical Issues for a Sustainable Future, 20–22 March 2006, Phuket, Thai-
land, organized by the Asian Meta Centre for Population and Sustainable Analysis. This paper is
part of a research project on the “Globalization of Households in Pacific Asia” that is coordinated
by Mike Douglass of the Globalization Research Center, University of Hawai’i, Honolulu. The
author is grateful to Ms. Andrea Soco, Ms. Sharon Agduma, and Ms. Czarina Medina for provid-
ing excellent research assistance. I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to the NSO’s
Dr. Bobbi Ericta and Ms. Emma Alday for their help in accessing the NSO-FIES database.
1 This study utilizes three sources of data: (1) secondary studies, (2) the NSO’s Family and
Income Expenditure Survey, and (3) existing case studies of migrant households.
2 For an elaboration of the concept of global householding, see Douglass in this issue.
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