By Samuel Medenilla
Over 1.2 million Filipinos have worked abroad this year, according to preliminary data from of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
POEA reported it has already deployed 1,281,506 workers from January to September.
Land-based workers still accounted for the bulk of the deployed workers with 1,058,029, while seafarers made up the remaining 223,477.
Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III said they anticipating to end the year with a larger number of deployed overseas Filipino workers (OFW) compared to 2017.
Last year, total deployment from POEA has breached the two million mark for the first time.
In a related development, Bello disclosed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and their regional offices were able to provide repatriation and reintegration service to almost 1.2 million OFWs.
