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professionals unwilling to work in their own countries due to

wage differentials.

The Philippines has been actively involved in the
crafting of the ASEAN community. As a major sending country

in the region, it has likewise been very much a key player in
the skills recognition process. The government has also taken

on policies and programs to comply with requirements of
the recognition agreements. The public discourse, at least by
policymakers and the media, is that the country stands to

benefit from the process, given the tight local labor market.

This paper takes a closer look at the supposed potential

and benefits of the skills-recognition process in the ASEAN,
at least on the part of the Philippines. It begins by presenting
the situation of Filipino skilled migration in the region, from

almost two decades of data regarding outflows of migrants.
The paper proceeds by looking at economic competitiveness in

terms of labor and skills management in ASEAN. Subsequently,
it looks at migration governance in Singapore and Malaysia as
case studies. Lastly, it assesses the extent to which the current

impetus of skills recognition will benefit the Philippines, given
the information in the discussion.

Finally, the paper concludes that based on the data,
the Philippines has quite a small number of skilled workers

who stand to benefit from this process, unless measures and

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