The sociocultural effects of returnee overseas Filipino workers in the Philippines

摘要

The article aims to determine the degree of sociocultural change resulting from the return of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), how the changes have impacted on the workers' original communities, and the various reintegration challenges posed by those communities. The theoretical framework of the article is built upon concepts of transnationalism and habitus. The methodology employed included field research conducted in 2010 and a village community approach. The study revealed that changes in the personal identities and social behaviour of the returnees are significant. However, the returnees' family ties and attitudes towards religion were largely the same as before they went overseas, and some had grown even closer to their families and become more religious. Further, the changes in their local community that occurred subsequent to their return revealed both positive and negative influences. Several sociocultural factors impeded the reintegration of returnee OFWs, and this called for action at all levels of government in the Philippines as well as from local communities and the returnees themselves.