Towards the Capital: An Analysis to Rural-Urban Migration in the Philippines

Living in the city always has a tempting appeal for those who grew up to the simple life of the country side. Each year, the number of people who are moving towards the city only seems to increase. It is not new to hear someone leaving the comforts of the provinces to seek for a greener pasture in the concrete fields of the urban. We have heard their stories a lot. Some have been immortalized in many primetime drama shows and movies. Some may be aiming for a corporate job and work their bones off ‘til they are able to afford a Condo Unit in Cubao or a house and lot in some executive village. There are those who just want a change of phase or change of scenery. And then there are those who are left with no choice but to see where their luck can take them.

Those who have been living in the city might wonder why behind the alarming traffic jam, tedious commuting, poor urban planning and urban housing problems, crime rate, overpopulation, and pollution people are still drawn towards cities. In fact, the rural to urban migration is contributing to making these issues worse. But no one can really blame the country folks for moving to the cities. Behind all these drawbacks, there are technical reasons that have lead most of our country fellow to heading for the National Capital Region for employment.

Job Opportunities
It is as simple as this: there are no job openings in the rural side of the country. And even if there are, the margin between the allowable minimum provincial wage and minimum city wage makes a very big difference. As of December 2015, the minimum wage rate in NCR has become Php400 to 481. Region IV-A’s Php362.50 is the closest rate offering to it.

National Budget Allocation
As a country that is still developing, our government concentrates almost only on the development of the National Capital Region. Although this draws international businesses to invest on our country, it dissuades them from opening businesses in the other region because the lack of decent roads, airport, and seaports will cause inconvenience for travelling and delivering goods.

Real Estate & Urbanizatio
The government’s support to the farmers and fishermen isn’t enough to make them keep their rice fields and fishing ponds. Instead of risking small profit in burning their skin under the sun to work, farmers and fishermen are selling their livelihood to real estates to give way for subdivisions. This forces them to find another occupation often leading them to contracting companies in NCR.

The rural-urban migration is a serious issue that will make us question the allocation of resources and development in the country. But it’s a clear representation of Filipinos being hard-workers and will do anything for survival and to provide for their family even if it means that we will need to leave the nest and explore a new horizon. It may take some time before we can afford that Cubao condo or house and lot in an executive subdivision but with gritting and grinding, diversities can be overcome.