TOKYO – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday praised the Filipino community in Japan for putting the Philippine image in the global spotlight and for contributing more than $1 billion to the Philippine economy through their remittances last year.
At the Belle Salle Tokyo Nihonbashi, almost 1,000 Filipinos endured the six-degree Celsius temperature to warmly welcome Marcos, who earned 76 percent of the total votes of Filipino overseas voters in last year’s presidential elections.
In his remarks, Marcos said he would repay their support by working hard to uplift the lives of Filipinos back in the Philippines.
“It is our turn now to return the favor, the support, and the affection that you have given us with the services of government not only to the overseas Filipino workers but also to all our Filipino citizens,” he said.
“My dream is to provide enough jobs in the Philippines, that if we see an OFW, one is in abroad by choice, and not because they are forced to work abroad.”
Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia-Albano touted that Japan has always been one of the top five countries with the biggest sources of remittances to Manila in the previous years.
“Last year, despite the pandemic, Filipinos in Japan contributed $1.49 billion to the economy through their remittances,” she said.
According to the envoy, there are about 290,000 Filipinos living across the eight regions in the island country.
“Many of them run small businesses, others work as English teachers, engineers, and housewives of Japanese nationals,” she said.