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Global Cities and Circuits of Global Labor: The Case of

Manila, Philippines

Article in The Professional Geographer · February 2000

DOI: 10.1111/0033-0124.00205

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Global Cities and Circuits of Global Labor:
The Case of Manila, Philippines*

James A. Tyner
Kent State University
The “global city” concept has captured the attention of geographers and other social scientists. Research focuses pre-
dominantly on capital mobility and the important managerial role exerted by cities in the “developed” realm (i.e.,
New York, London, Tokyo). The mobility of labor is also important and yet has been neither critically conceptualized
nor sufficiently analyzed in existing studies of global cities. Using the Philippines as a case study, I examine 1) how glo-
bal circuits of labor are socially organized, and 2) the extent to which this social organization is spatially concentrated
in Manila. In so doing, I reaffirm the critical role played by Third World cities as global cities. Key Words: global
city, labor, Manila, Philippines, migration.

Introduction subsequently, these flows are manifest in in-

creased levels of immigration in a few key cities

S ince the 1980s, the “global city” concept

has captured the attention of geographers
and other social scientists (Friedmann and
in the developed realm. What Sassen fails to ar-
ticulate, however, is the critical function of
recruitment-related institutions within the ori-
Wolff 1982; Timberlake 1985; Friedmann gin country and thus she downplays the exist-
1986; Sassen 1991; Knox and Taylor 1995; ence of “global cities” within the periphery and
Clark 1996). Global (or world) cities are pos- semi-periphery.
ited as “control centers” or “command points” The a priori exclusion of Third World cities
in the organization of the world economy represents a serious deficiency in the global
(Friedmann 1986; Sassen 1991). Cities such as cities literature. International labor migration
New York, London, and Tokyo are conceived does not occur in a vacuum, and certainly does
as sites of “massive complexes of financial not result simply from a condition of labor de-
firms, producer services, and corporate head- mand in a few core cities. Using the Philippines
quarters” (Warf and Erickson 1996, 2). Early as a case study, this paper examines the critical
work is characterized by refined definitions of and functional role of Manila as a key node in
global cities and the assigning of cities in a glo- the global circuit of labor. Two basic questions
bal hierarchy. A more recent trend is to theo- form the core of my analysis: 1) How are global
rize global cities in terms of their functions, circuits of labor socially organized?; and 2) To
and of their relations to processes within the glo- what extent is this social organization spatially
bal economy (Knox 1995). concentrated in Manila? In answering these
In the study of global cities international questions, I presume that state-level political
labor migration, as a global process, is neither and economic decisions are manifest within the
critically conceptualized nor sufficiently ana- urbanization process and that the formulation
lyzed. International labor migration remains and implementation of these decisions are in-
understudied for the simple reason that re- fluenced by the historical growth and current
search on global cities is overwhelmingly ap- position of the state within the world economy.
proached from a destination perspective and, Within the Philippines, a program of overseas
by extension, the focus is on the import of labor employment as an economic development
(Sassen 1991; Abu-Lughod 1995; Beaverstock strategy led to the growth of a complex ag-
and Smith 1996). Sassen (1988), for example, glomeration of government and private institu-
effectively argues that increased foreign direct tions that play a decisive role in the organiza-
investment generates significant flows of emi- tion and regulation of international labor
gration from lesser developed countries and, migration. Most germane to this paper is that

* I gratefully acknowledge Dr. Gerald E. Tyner for his cartographic assistance.

Professional Geographer, 52(1) 2000, pages 61–74 © Copyright 2000 by Association of American Geographers.
Initial submission, April 1998; revised submission, September 1998; final acceptance, March 1999.
Published by Blackwell Publishers, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, and 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF, UK.
62 Volume 52, Number 1, February 2000

these institutions are spatially concentrated Sassen (1988, 120) contends that emigration as
within Manila, thereby propelling the city into a viable option is promoted through “the con-
a key role within the global economy. solidation of objective and ideological links”
between lesser- and more-industrialized coun-
The Functions of Global Cities tries. However, the mere existence of direct
and Global Labor foreign investment fails to explain fully the
timing and direction of migration flows. Japan,
There is a commonality among definitions of for example, invests heavily in Malaysia—a
global cities, all of which recognize the concen- process that indeed contributes to a disruption
tration of activities required for the control, of traditional household structures (Ong 1987).
management, and regulation of the global In this case, though, significant flows of labor
economy. Among the most important criteria from Malaysia to Japan do not exist. Sassen also
identified include 1) a spatial concentration of alludes to the timing of United States immigra-
financial and service complexes serving a global tion legislation, especially the 1965 Act, as con-
clientele; and 2) a hub of international net- tributing to the linkages between countries of
works of capital and information and commu- labor-surplus and labor-scarcity; by extension,
nication flows (Sassen 1991; Simon 1995). the continuance of highly restrictive immigra-
Based on these criteria, New York, London, tion policies in Japan would explain the lack of
and Tokyo are commonly identified as “control significant flows of Malay workers into Japan.
centers” of the global economy; strong support And yet the U.S. Immigration Act of 1965 was
also exists to classify Los Angeles and Chicago not intended to drastically effect the demo-
as global cities (Dear and Flusty 1997; Greene graphic makeup of immigrants; legislators did
1997). Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Minneap- not intend for large numbers of Hispanic and
olis-St. Paul, in contrast, are evaluated as re- Asian immigrants to enter the country (cf. Ber-
gional control centers (Kaplan and Schwartz nard 1970; Briggs 1984).
1996; Adams 1997; Warf and Holly 1997). Rather than immigration policies of core
Characteristically, research assesses global countries, or behavioral and ideological links
cities based firstly on their control of global cir- among individual migrants, I contend that the
cuits of capital and secondly as receptors of missing piece of Sassen’s argument, and that of
global labor. As Sassen (1988) persuasively ar- most studies of global cities, is the formation
gues, the global expansion of capital incorpo- of material recruitment links embedded within
rates new segments of workers, especially of the social organization of global circuits of
young women, into the paid productive labor labor. Moreover, I contend that the same crite-
sphere, a process that is extremely destabilizing ria of concentration, control, regulation, and
to traditional household structures. The large management of capital flows are found within
scale mobilization of young women into waged systems of global circuits of labor, and that
labor results in a “cultural distancing” be- these control nodes are found predominantly
tween women and their communities of origin. in a few key Third World cities (such as Manila,
Moreover, the “westernizing” effects of pro- Colombo, Dhaka, and Hyderabad).
ducing for more industrialized countries in-
duces migrants to seek “greener pastures.” Con- Global Circuits of Labor
sequently, a combination of factors, including International labor migration, historically, has
the passage of liberalized immigration legisla- been facilitated through the existence of social
tion, the de-industrialization of traditional networks embedded within specific historical-
manufacturing sectors, and the polarization of structural conditions. Paramount among these
local labor markets has resulted in the concen- social networks is the role of labor recruitment
tration of immigrants into a few key “global” agents. Labor systems as diverse as the white
cities (Bluestone and Harrison 1982; Sassen indentured servants to British North America,
1991). the Atlantic slave trade, the transatlantic (Eu-
A major weakness of Sassen’s work is its link ropean) system of the nineteenth century, and
between reserve supplies of labor in (semi-) pe- the immigration of Japanese, Chinese, and Phil-
ripheral countries and labor demands in core ippine laborers into the United States were all
countries and global cities. As a causal factor, influenced by labor recruiters (Tinker 1974;
 Global Cities and Circuits of Global Labor 63
Galenson 1981; Moriyama 1985; Northrup ual potential migrants and their friends and rel-
1995). Paradoxically, the “employer and the atives. When potential migrants gain access to
complex networks of recruitment agencies that an employment opportunity, a decision must
link it with the migrant are remarkable in their be rendered as to whether or not to take the
absence in most accounts of international labor contract. An increasing number of studies are
migration” (Goss and Lindquist 1995, 337). To examining the gendered and household dimen-
this end, I propose a three-stage framework to sions inherent within this circuit (Chant 1992;
highlight the social organization of global cir- Hondagneu-Sotelo 1994). It is important to
cuits of labor (Tyner 1996b, 1998, 1999). Ac- recognize also that decision-making processes
cording to this framework, the production at the household level are fundamentally dif-
of formal contract labor migration consists of ferent from decision-making processes embed-
three nested circuits of social organization: ded within the other two circuits of social orga-
contract procurement, labor recruitment, and nization. The political and economic agendas
worker deployment. These circuits bind ori- of government officials, labor recruiters, and
gins and destinations and provide a material foreign employers are premised within an en-
linkage between regions of labor-surplus and tirely different context of goals and motivations
labor-scarcity. (Tyner 1996a). Foreign employers, for exam-
The first circuit, contract procurement, con- ple, are more concerned with satisfying par-
sists of negotiations and bargaining between ticular labor-shortages; decisions are based
labor recruiters, foreign employers, and gov- predominantly on the confluence of cost and
ernment officials. It is within this circuit that quality considerations. Significantly, the house-
labor-importing firms (e.g., hospitals, multi- hold decision-making process, unlike govern-
national corporations) request foreign work mental decision-making, is more divided
forces (cf. Marsden 1994; Tsay 1994; Lee and among multiple axes of gender and generation
Sivananthiran 1996). Employers generally re- (Hondagneu-Sotelo 1994).
quest workers based on statistical prejudge- In this paper I concentrate primarily on the
ments, or stereotypes (Acker and Van Houten first circuit of social organization as manifest in
1974; Adkins 1995). It is within this process Manila. It is the concentration of government
that people, places, and occupations come to be agencies, labor recruitment offices, and af-
labeled masculine or feminine, and patterns of filiated institutions that cast Manila as a
gendered labor migration might result (Tyner “global city” in the functioning of global cir-
1996b). When statistical prejudgements are cuits of labor.
based on ethnic or nationality differences, ra-
cialized labor migration results. The Political Economy of Philippine
The second circuit, labor recruitment, oper- Labor-Export
ates mostly within labor-exporting countries.
This circuit consists mostly of labor recruiters, The scale and geographical scope of labor mi-
government officials, and worker applicants. As gration from the Philippines has increased dra-
previous research indicate, the forms of re- matically since the 1970s. In 1975 just over
cruitment are historically and geographically 36,000 workers were processed for overseas
specific (Abella 1992; Marsden 1994; Tsay employment; by 1989 this number had risen to
1994; Lee and Sivananthiran 1996). Neverthe- over 500,000.1 As of 1994, over 700,000 mi-
less, key similarities can be identified, whether grant workers were deployed, reaffirming the
we speak of the recruitment of Japanese laborers Philippines’ position as the largest exporter of
in the early twentieth century or the recruit- government-sponsored labor (Table 1). More-
ment of Thai workers in the late twentieth cen- over, these migrant workers are employed in
tury (cf. Moriyama 1985; Rigg 1989). In partic- over 160 countries and territories, with signifi-
ular, recruitment agents normally acquiesce to cant concentrations in the more industrialized
the demands of foreign employers, thereby re- countries of East Asia (i.e., Japan, Singapore,
inforcing gendered or racialized patterns of mi- Taiwan) and in the oil-producing countries of
gration (Tyner 1996b). the Middle East (i.e., Saudi Arabia, Kuwait).
Worker deployment, the third circuit of social The magnitude of Philippine international
organization, is located at the level of individ- labor migration is attributable to a network of
64 Volume 52, Number 1, February 2000

Table 1 Deployed Migrant Workers from Selected icy to manipulate the international environ-
Asian Countries, 1990–1994 ment to contribute toward economic growth
Origin 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 (Wurfel 1988). This shift in geopolitical orien-
Bangladesh 103,775 147,131 188,103 244,590 186,203 tation was particularly evident in the wake of
India 141,816 192,003 416,874 438,338 366,425 the American defeat in Vietnam; Philippine
Indonesia 86,264 149,777 172,197 159,995 141,287 officials realized that it was not viable to remain
Pakistan 113,800 147,145 195,985 157,387 114,019
Philippines 446,095 615,019 686,461 696,630 719,602 completely dependent upon a single country
Sri Lanka 42,625 65,019 124,494 129,076 130,027 (Timberman 1991, 91).
Thailand 63,024 63,849 81,718 137,950 169,764 The key to the Philippines’ economic strat-
Source: Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, egy hinged on the availability of an interna-
1995. tionally attractive (that is, cheap and docile)
labor force. These characteristics proved entic-
government and private agencies that have ing not only to direct foreign investment in the
arisen in the context of local and global politi- Philippines, but also as a mobile source of labor
cal economic change. During the 1950s and to be deployed globally. Codified in the 1974
1960s the Philippine economy was structured Philippine Labor Code, all labor policies and
around a strategy of import substitution indus- programs, including the export of labor, were
trialization (ISI) that favored capital-intensive to be realigned with overall economic growth
industries producing for the domestic market. and development goals (Khan 1988). The Phil-
Although consistent with a nationalist ideology ippines’ program of overseas employment was
prevalent during the early post-independence envisioned to reduce domestic unemployment
years, this strategy was inadequate to support and underemployment, to increase the skills
continued economic growth (Jayasuriya 1987; acquisition of migrant workers, and to alleviate
Jose 1991). Many established manufacturing balance of payment problems through manda-
industries were unable to expand beyond a tory remittances.
protected home market; industrial growth Two agencies were created in 1974: the Over-
could not absorb the expanding labor force— seas Employment Development Board (OEDB)
estimated at 700,000 new workers annually and the National Seaman’s Board (NSB). Com-
(Villegas 1986; Jose 1991; Kuruvilla 1995). The bined, these agencies were responsible for mar-
control of the Philippine economy was politi- ket development, recruitment, and deployment
cally contested. By the early 1970s, supporters of land-based and sea-based workers, respec-
of foreign business interests, multinational cor- tively (Asis 1992, 71). The Bureau of Employ-
porations, and international monetary agencies ment Services (BES), already in existence,
sought to dismantle the protective trade bar- functioned as a transitory, government-run
riers; conversely, Philippine nationalists ada- employment agency while simultaneously reg-
mantly opposed any form of increased foreign ulating private recruitment agencies (Alegado
intervention (Bello et al. 1982; Wurfel 1988). 1992, 171).
The declaration of martial law by President With the backing of an authoritarian gov-
Ferdinand Marcos in September 1972 elimi- ernment, both crony capitalism and govern-
nated any further discussion. ment monopolies were encouraged (Hawes
Martial law had wide-reaching implications 1987); the program of overseas employment
for economic development strategies. Philip- was no exception. As originally outlined in the
pine policymakers were able to redirect the 1974 Labor Code, the government intended to
economy away from a limited domestic market retain complete control of the overseas em-
and toward a seemingly limitless global market ployment industry; this was to be accompanied
(Bello et al. 1982). Reflecting an economic pol- by the eventual phase-out of private sector par-
icy shift from ISI to export-oriented industrial- ticipation (Alegado 1992). The rationale for
ization, the Philippine government encouraged the government monopoly was that
the investment of foreign capital in the form since the [1974] Labor Code provided for the
of export-processing zones. The Philippine network of public employment which is sup-
government, under the guidance of Marcos, posed to be the premier vehicle for [the] national
sought greater integration into the global employment program, all tactical measures, in-
economy and, especially, to utilize foreign pol- cluding the overseas employment program, must
 Global Cities and Circuits of Global Labor 65
serve to strengthen the network (Martinez 1990,
quoted in Alegado 1992, 171).
The government’s proposed monopoly
failed to materialize, however, because the
OEDB and NSB were marred by corruption
and inefficiency (Ople 1979) and also because
the over-centralized government began to at-
rophy (Timberman 1991, 91). Coupled with an
aggressive counter attack by private recruit-
ment agencies, the government was forced to
amend its labor-export program and to allow
for the participation of the private sector (Ale-
gado 1992).
Events of the late 1970s and early 1980s pre-
cipitated a re-organization of the Philippines’
overseas employment program. In the wake of
the second oil crisis in 1979, the Philippine
economy was hard hit; problems were com-
pounded by government corruption, ill-
advised “enrichment projects,” a rise in interest
on foreign borrowings, and a decline in world
prices of key export crops (Villegas 1986;
Kuruvilla 1995). Thus, the OEDB, NSB, and
BES were united in 1982 to form the Philip-
pines Overseas Employment Administration Figure 1: Cities and municipalities of metropolitan
(POEA). To Asis (1992), this signified a re- Manila.
newed effort on behalf of the Philippine gov-
ernment to capitalize on the global economy
and to use overseas employment as a develop- vices (Berner 1997, 11). Manila and its proxi-
ment tool. As mandated, the POEA was to mate environs remain the dominant political,
increase the efficiency of the labor-export economic, and social capital of the Philippines
program and to increase the diversity of geo- (Berner 1997).
graphic destinations and of occupations of Based on its historical urban primacy, it is
Philippine labor migrants. not surprising that Metro Manila would
emerge as the “command center” of its bur-
Manila as a Global City geoning overseas employment program. Exist-
ing research on labor migration has, however,
The historical growth and development of failed to adequately capture the centrality of
urban Manila has been well documented, and key cities, such as Manila, in the global econ-
need not detain us here (cf. Reed 1978; Nem- omy. To remedy this, we must simultaneously
eth and Smith 1985; United Nations 1986; ask, first, how are global circuits of labor so-
Caoili 1988; Arn 1995; Berner 1997). Suffice to cially organized, and second, how are these cir-
say that by the early 1970s, when the Philippine cuits spatially concentrated?
government launched its overseas employment
program, the primacy of Manila was firmly en- The Social Organization of Philippine
trenched. Divided into four cities and 13 mu- Overseas Employment
nicipalities (Fig. 1), the National Capital Re-
gion (NCR) had, as of 1990, a population of Within the global labor market, sending-coun-
eight million inhabitants, representing 13% of try governments are able to exert a consider-
the country’s total population. The NCR pro- able degree of control in shaping migration
duces 32% of the gross domestic product of the patterns and outcomes (Abella 1992). In the
Philippines and accounts for more than half of Philippines, it is the Manila-based POEA which
the national output in manufacturing and ser- functions as the “command center” for the
66 Volume 52, Number 1, February 2000

export of labor. This position is facilitated in the deployment of specific occupations (e.g.,
through the establishment of both formal and nurses, domestic workers, construction workers)
informal guidelines and channels of communi- and/or in particular destinations (e.g., Japan,
cation that create a web of information flows. Kuwait, or Taiwan).
Owing to the dominance of the POEA, Manila The role of government officials abroad is
occupies the focal point of this web. According also especially crucial to the effective deploy-
to the Rules and Regulations Governing Overseas ment of labor. These officials may not be di-
Employment, the POEA is tasked with the rectly associated with the POEA. Ambassadors
[e]stablishment and maintenance of effective
and consulate officials, for example, have many
linkages with other government agencies includ- responsibilities that are far removed from the
ing Philippine Missions abroad or corps of labor movement of labor. Other officials, of course,
attaches, foreign governments directly or are more directly involved. Labor attachés are a
through their Embassies, foreign employers, the case in point. As of June 1993, the Philippines
local private recruitment sector, and other orga- maintained a network of 19 labor attachés
nizations. (Book V, Rule I, Section 3f ) around the globe, located in the principal
In short, the POEA operates as a conduit; labor-importing countries and territories, such
without the cooperation and organization of a as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Hong Kong, and Sin-
multitude of other individuals and institutions, gapore. According to administrators of the
the POEA would be ineffective in the global POEA, government officials stationed abroad
labor market. Of paramount importance is the act as the “eyes and ears” of the Philippines’
symbiotic relationship between the POEA and overseas employment program. Ambassadors,
private recruitment agencies. consulars, and labor attachés watch for any
The private sector is composed of hundreds labor-market developments, such as talk of
of labor-recruitment agencies; these are distin- hotels or airports in the planning stages. Much
guished primarily by the type of worker re- of this information is passed through casual
cruited and deployed. The most fundamental conversation at State dinners, parties, or hall-
distinction is between land-based and sea- way gossip. Upon hearing of new prospects,
based workers. Private recruitment agencies are government officials may report either to the
those licensed to recruit and deploy land-based POEA directly, or to the Department of For-
overseas contract workers. These are further eign Affairs (DFA). If this latter route is taken,
classified into two categories: private employ- the DFA then re-routes the information to the
ment agencies (PEAs) and service/construction con- POEA.
tractors (SCCs). PEA’s supply Philippine labor At this point we should reaffirm our working
to foreign clients, with the foreign client as the definition of global cities. To Sassen (1991,
principal employer. Conversely, SCCs provide 325), “the maintenance of centralized control
labor through the deployment of Philippine and management over a geographically dis-
companies, with the Philippine company re- persed array of plants, offices and service out-
ceiving the foreign labor contract. Manning lets cannot be taken for granted or seen as an
agencies are those which are licensed to recruit inevitable outcome of a ‘world system.’” As such,
and deploy seafarers, or sea-based workers, for the production of international labor migration
vessels plying international waters or other re- must be viewed as a direct out-growth of the in-
lated maritime activities. In 1990 the POEA teractions of government officials, labor re-
reported a total of 638 licensed agencies in cruitment agents, foreign employers, and po-
good standing: 303 were PEAs, 101 were SCCs, tential migrants. The marketing branch of the
and 234 were manning agencies. Pre-Employment Services Office of the POEA,
Further segmentation of recruitment agen- for example, helps promote and develop over-
cies is evident. Owing to complex licensing seas employment opportunities for various
procedures and a desire to capitalize on specific “skills” categories. These tasks are accom-
foreign labor markets, private labor recruit- plished through marketing missions, govern-
ment agencies exhibit labor-niche specialization mental promotional campaigns, the pursuance
(Tyner 1999). Aside from the aforementioned of bilateral agreements, and media advertising.
division between land-based and sea-based Marketing missions clearly illustrate the so-
workers, recruitment agencies may specialized cial organization of labor migration at the gov-
 Global Cities and Circuits of Global Labor 67
ernmental level. These missions are specific tance (CRA) program. The CRA began in 1985
State-sanctioned visits of Philippine officials. under the auspices of the Market Development
The type of participants involved depends both Division of the POEA and functions as a state-
on the situation and type of mission; however, organized conduit between private foreign
participants usually include officials of the employers and Philippine-based private re-
POEA, the DFA, the Department of Labor and cruitment agencies. CRA clients are usually
Employment (DOLE), and the Overseas “first-timers” in that they have not previously
Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). recruited Philippine migrant workers and thus
Although reflecting a variety of purposes, in- have not established any contact with Philip-
cluding policy discussions on the welfare of mi- pine private recruitment agencies.
grant workers, market missions are most often Initially, foreign employers contact the
designed to obtain current information on po- POEA with specific requests for Philippine
tential labor markets. In 1989, for example, the workers. These employers may have learned of
POEA sent two missions to Hong Kong. the POEA through media sources such as the
These missions were the direct result of per- internet (Tyner 1998), through promotion
ceived labor shortages in the (then) British col- campaigns initiated by the POEA, or through
ony. The POEA received word that Hong individual social networks of employers. After a
Kong authorities were liberalizing the impor- screening of job requests, the POEA provides
tation of temporary contract workers; at the a list of three recruitment agencies to the po-
time, there were an estimated 115,000 adver- tential employer. The determination of the
tised vacancies, of which 14,700 were approved three agencies is, in part, based on a match be-
for foreign workers. There was no quota on the tween agency specialization and job request.
nationalities to be hired, but language ability Employers requesting sea-based workers, for
was considered important. The POEA deter- example, would be directed toward relevant
mined that Philippine workers, because of their manning agencies.
language abilities, would be preferred in the Once three agencies are selected, informa-
service sectors, such as hotels, travel agencies, tion pertaining to the prospective labor con-
airlines, and clerical work. Following the com- tract is forwarded by the POEA to the selected
pletion of the marketing mission, the POEA private recruitment agencies. These agencies
designed and implemented a four-stage strat- then make bids to the potential foreign em-
egy to penetrate the Hong Kong market. First, ployer. Within this first circuit of social organi-
an active information campaign was launched zation, the linkage between the Philippine pri-
to transmit the most current information on vate recruitment agency and the potential
the new Hong Kong importation guidelines to foreign employer is negotiated. The employer,
the many private recruitment agencies in the after a review of the proposals, may either
Philippines. Second, this was accompanied by a accept one of the agencies’ proposals—a suc-
direct mailer campaign by the POEA, wherein cessful “tie-up”—and procure a contract or,
lists of directories of Hong Kong employers alternatively, the employer may decline all pro-
were provided to the private sector. Third, the posals. In the event that the potential foreign
Philippine labor attaché in Hong Kong was employer does not have a successful tie-up with
tasked to monitor developments and to main- the referred agencies, the POEA may supply a
tain contact with the POEA. Last, the POEA complete listing of all licensed recruitment
liberalized the processing procedures for Phil- agencies in operation. Indeed, tie-ups between
ippine migrant workers bound to Hong Kong. CRA-listed agencies are usually infrequent.
The liberalization of requirements was in- The explanation is straightforward, and pro-
tended to make the Philippines more “attrac- vides considerable explanatory power to an
tive” to potential Hong Kong employers. Effi- understanding of exploitation and corruption
ciency of processing, and the lack of within the overseas employment program. Only
bureaucratic “red tape,” are key factors in the the most reputable agencies, ostensibly, are al-
hiring of foreign workers. lowed to participate in the CRA program;
The critical role of the POEA in facilitating therefore, these agencies adhere to the rules
international clientele is further illustrated by and regulations established by the POEA. Non-
the functioning of the Client Referral Assis- reputable agencies, conversely, are able to un-
68 Volume 52, Number 1, February 2000

dermine the CRA-listed agencies by transfer-

ring the costs incurred by potential employers
onto potential migrant workers. Although ille-
gal, these reduced costs are extremely tempting
to foreign employers.
In sum, the POEA assumes a central position
in the organization, management, and regula-
tion of Philippine international labor migra-
tion. This control thus influences the economic
development of over 160 countries and territo-
ries around the world, as Philippine migrant
workers are engaged in numerous construc-
tion, clerical, and service occupations.

The Centrality of Philippine

Overseas Employment
The social organization of Philippine recruit-
ment and deployment is manifest in the spatial
centrality of Manila. As discussed above, the
Manila-based POEA is the principal govern-
ment agency involved in overseas employment.
Composed of four sectors (Pre-Employment
Services; Licensing and Regulation; Adjudica-
tion; and Welfare and Employment), the reach
of the POEA extends into all facets of the Phil- Figure 2: Distribution of private employment
ippines’ overseas employment program; conse- agencies in metropolitan Manila.
quently, the POEA works closely with other
Manila-based governmental institutions as well lution indicates that of those PEAs located in
as the myriad of private recruitment agencies. the city of Manila, the majority (56%) are
The distribution of labor recruitment agen- in the Ermita district, with another 29% in the
cies reveals also a spatial concentration within district of Malate (Table 2). Outside Manila
Metro Manila. An analysis of unpublished data proper, an additional 30% of PEAs are located
(c. 1989) provided by the POEA indicates that in the municipality of Makati. This spatial dis-
the Metro Manila region in general, and the tribution is not surprising, given that Makati
city of Manila specifically, are home to the is the nation’s financial center and headquarter
lion’s share of private recruitment agencies. Of of most domestic and foreign corporations
the 633 agencies for which I could identify a (Strassmann and Blunt 1994). Ermita, con-
site, 627 (99%) are located in Metro Manila. In versely, has long been viewed as the “entertain-
addition, 46% are located in the city of Manila ment” district and, indeed, many agencies spe-
proper. Another 11% and 31% are located in cializing in the deployment of performing
Quezon city and the municipality of Makati, artists are located in this area. However, anec-
respectively. dotal evidence suggests that although labor re-
A strong spatial patterning based on recruit- cruiters for performing artists are located in
ment agency classification is also evident. Over Ermita, they prefer to hire from outside the re-
99% of all private employment agencies (PEAs) gion (Tyner 1996b).
for which a site could be identified are located The distribution of manning agencies reveals
in Metro Manila; just under half of these a similar pattern, with 55% of identified agen-
(49.7%) are in the city of Manila (Fig. 2). The cies located in the city of Manila and another
two agencies not sited in Metro Manila are lo- 28% in Makati (Fig. 3). The most obvious dif-
cated in the second largest city of the Philip- ference is that an additional seven agencies are
pines, Cebu, and also in the city of Iloilo, on located in port areas around Manila, with an
the island of Panay in the Visayas. A finer reso- outlier in Batangas (an important port facility
 Global Cities and Circuits of Global Labor 69
Table 2 Distribution of Private Recruitment Agencies in Manila’s Sub-Districts, 1990
Private Shipping/
Manila Employment Manning Service Construction
Sub-district Agency Agency Contractor Contractor
Ermita 80 (55.9%) 62 (48.8%) 12 (52.2%) —
Malate 41 (28.7%) 27 (21.3%) 9 (39.1%) 5 (71.4%)
Intramuros 5 (3.5%) 23 (18.1%) 1 (4.3%) —
Pandacan — — 1 (4.3%) 1 (14.3%)
Paco 9 (6.3%) 5 (3.9%) — 1 (14.3%)
Sampaloc 7 (4.9%) 3 (2.4%) — —
San Miguel 1 (0.7%) — — —
Harbor Area — 7 (5.5%) — —
Total Manila 143 (100%) 127 (100%) 23 (100%) 7 (100%)

south of Metro Manila). Both service and con- duct of their business. Localization economies
struction contractors are more likely to be found are derived in three key areas. First, the local-
in the municipality of Makati than in the city ized scale of the Philippine migration industry
of Manila (Figs. 4 and 5). Makati is the site of within Manila permits the subdivision of oper-
the Philippine Overseas Construction Board, ations. Certain occupations, for example, re-
the principal government agency responsible quire training and testing procedures to be
for the deployment of Philippine construction completed prior to departure. Consider the de-
companies. ployment of overseas performing artists. As
Reaffirming the centrality of Manila in the part of a complex pre-departure recruitment
global circuits of labor, private recruitment system, overseas performing artists are re-
agencies are able to capitalize on both localiza- quired to undergo academic and skills training
tion and urbanization economies in the con- conducted by an accredited training center or

Figure 3: Distribution of shipping/manning agen- Figure 4: Distribution of service contractors in

cies in metropolitan Manila. metropolitan Manila.
70 Volume 52, Number 1, February 2000

locations; through the subdivision of opera-

tions, and the use of training/talent agencies,
these recruiters are able to skirt licensing pro-
cedures and canvass a greater geographical
coverage in their recruitment.
Second, the creation of a pool of skilled and
unskilled labor strengthens localization econo-
mies (Berry et al. 1997). As primate city, Manila
is the destination of displaced peasants from
the periphery. These internal migrants either
may arrive in Manila specifically for overseas
employment, or perhaps will later take advan-
tage of this opportunity once in the city. Either
way, Manila-based labor recruiters benefit from
a continual supply of reserve labor. Concur-
rently, the sheer number of schools and univer-
sities within Manila provides a ready supply of
skilled labor which private recruitment agen-
cies can tap.
Third, private recruitment agencies in gen-
eral, but especially those located in Manila,
may benefit from a reputation acquired by its
workers. As Berry et al. (1997) argue, the repu-
tation acquired by goods produced in a given
locality leads to product differentiation. Exist-
Figure 5: Distribution of construction contractors
ing research indicates the positive, though
in metropolitan Manila.
sometimes changing, perception of “Philippine
workers” as a high quality product (Woodward
talent agency (Tyner 1996a, 1996b, 1997). Os- 1988; Constable 1997). Although certainly an
tensibly, these procedures protect migrant per- example of stereotypes based on nationality,
forming artists against abuses encountered this is a form of product differentiation and is
overseas. An analysis of a 315 training/talent capitalized upon by the Philippine migration
agencies reveals a spatial concentration within industry in its marketing efforts (Tyner 1996b).
Manila (18%) and the three proximate cities of Urbanization economies derive from the
Quezon (27%), Pasay (6%), and Caloocan close association of many different kinds of in-
(5%) (POEA 1998). An additional 31% of dustry in large cities (Berry et al. 1997). For the
training/talent agencies are located within the labor migration industry, these include the spa-
13 municipalities, with the majority in Makati tial proximity of embassies, consulates, hospi-
(15%). Of greater significance, however, is that tals, and police stations. The export of labor is
approximately 10% of all training/talent cen- highly regulated (Goss and Lindquist 1995;
ters are located beyond the boundaries of Tyner 1996b; Ball 1997); the bureaucratic effi-
the National Capital Region. Indeed, unlike ciency of recruitment agencies is facilitated
the spatial distribution of private employment through the spatial concentration of these re-
agencies, numerous training/talent agencies are lated activities. Documentary requirements in-
located throughout the Visayas and Mindanao. clude passports, passport photographs, visas,
This distribution indicates the importance of airplane tickets, and medical and police clear-
training/talent agencies, particularly in the de- ances. Although some recruitment agencies
ployment of performing artists, as intermediar- handle most of these requirements, at other
ies between Manila-based private employment times the costs and responsibilities are trans-
agencies and potential migrant workers. Pri- ferred to the worker-applicants. In either case,
vate employment agencies engaged in the re- recruitment agents and/or potential migrants
cruitment and deployment of overseas per- must physically be present at the relevant facil-
forming artists are legally confined to specific ities (e.g., embassies, consulates, medical facili-
 Global Cities and Circuits of Global Labor 71
ties). Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and ital flows and cities in core countries, such as
Italy, for example, require that workers are ex- New York, London, and Tokyo. By situating
amined by competent medical clinics that are our studies of global cities a priori in these lo-
accredited by respective embassies; these must cations, we risk losing sight of the important
also be authenticated by the Manila-based De- role of Third World cities in the functioning of
partment of Foreign Affairs. the global economy. From such a vantage
Private recruitment agencies are also able to point, other important roles in the global econ-
benefit from the close proximity of services omy, assumed by Third World participants,
drawn from non-labor-related activities. For fade dimly into the background. However, by
private recruitment agencies, these include ad- re-focusing our perspective to functions other
vertising agencies, transportation facilities, and than those of capital mobility, we see a greatly
an existing infrastructure (e.g., electrical ser- different system of global cities, which suggests
vices for personal computer use). Within the important role performed by institutions
Manila, additionally, the proximity of labor re- within the Third World.
cruitment agencies to Ninoy Aquino Interna- To date, relatively little attention has focused
tional Airport, the main transportation node on the significant role of “peripheral” and “semi-
linking the Philippines’ population to the rest peripheral” cities (e.g., Manila, Bangkok, Co-
of the world, is a significant factor. lombo) and the regulation of international mi-
In sum, it is instructive to consider the nexus gration. The mobility of labor is viewed pre-
between the services offered by Manila with dominantly from a destination perspective and,
the needs and concerns of foreign employers, as a consequence, scant attention is focused on
as outlined by William McCuskey, Senior Vice the institutions producing and reproducing
President for Marine Services of C.F. Sharp global flows of labor. Thus, in classification
and Company. In addressing the international schemes of global cities, places such as Manila
market for seafarers, McCuskey (1991, 20) out- are marginalized into positions of secondary
lined several major items which foreign em- cities in semi-peripheral countries (cf. Fried-
ployers look for in selecting a “labor supply” man 1986). Yet this ignores the critical func-
country. These include the ability to send and tions that Manila-based institutions assume in
receive communications promptly by telex, the global circuit of labor.
telephone, and facsimile transmission; the avail- International labor migration is socially con-
ability of an international airport; a choice of structed through the negotiations and deci-
honest and reputable manning agencies; an sion-making of a myriad of participants, in-
efficient seafarer processing and documenta- cluding government officials, private recruiters,
tion system; a national licensing and examina- foreign employers, and migrant workers. This
tion procedure; training centers; and a steady social organization is also manifest spatially. In
supply of qualified and properly motivated sea- this paper I outline a framework of global cir-
farers. Manila, not only as the primate city of cuits of labor and emphasize the social organi-
the Philippines, but more importantly as the zation of these circuits. Using Manila as a case
primate city of the labor-export industry, is best study I demonstrate the spatial centrality of
able to accommodate, regulate, and manage these circuits of social organization and in so
these diverse needs. As the Philippines ranks doing, I reaffirm the critical role of Third
first in the global provision of seafarers, provid- World cities within the global economy.
ing approximately 16% of the world’s total of Important work remains. A valid question is
1.2 million seafarers (Galang 1992, 45), it is whether or not other peripheral cities exhibit
clear that the Manila-based POEA assumes a similar functions. To my knowledge, no other
key position in the global economy. No doubt researcher has examined the social organiza-
this role is magnified when one considers the tion and the concomitant spatial distribution of
other, non-maritime based workers. private recruitment agencies. As an initial foray
into South Asia, I can present data provided by
Summary and Implications the Sri Lankan Bureau of Foreign Employ-
ment; in 1997, data indicate that 69% (319 out
Existing research on global cities has, arguably, of 464) of all licensed recruitment agencies in
been hamstrung by a myopic viewpoint of cap- Sri Lanka are located in Colombo (Ruhunage
72 Volume 52, Number 1, February 2000

1997). I would expect to find similar patterns ing countries. In International Migration Systems: A
within other labor-exporting countries, such as Global Approach, eds. Mary Kritz, Lean Lim, and
Pakistan and Myanmar. Hania Zlotnik, 263–78. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Aside from similarities in the spatial distribu- Abu-Lughod, Janet L. 1995. Comparing Chicago,
New York, and Los Angeles: Testing some world
tion of recruitment agencies, however, future
cities hypothesis. In World Cities in a World-System,
research should speculate on the implications eds. Paul L. Knox and Peter J. Taylor, 171–91.
of these patterns. Given that in the Philippines London: Cambridge University Press.
over 99% of private recruitment agencies are Acker, Joan, and D.R. Van Houten. 1974. Differen-
located in Manila and in Sri Lanka nearly 70% tial recruitment and control: The sex structuring
are located in Colombo, what are the impli- of organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly
cations for the urbanization process? Does a 19:152–63.
program of overseas employment contribute Adams, Carolyn. 1997. The Philadelphia experience.
significantly to the uneven development of Annals of the American Academy of Political and So-
cial Science 551:222–34.
labor-exporting countries? If so, should (or
Adkins, Lisa. 1995. Gendered Work: Sexuality, Family
can) overseas employment programs be re- and the Labour Market. Philadelphia: Open Uni-
organized so as to promote more spatially bal- versity Press.
anced economic growth and development? Alegado, Dean T. 1992. The political economy of in-
Also, we should examine more closely the gov- ternational labor migration from the Philippines.
ernment’s production of gendered local labor Ph.D. diss., University of Hawaii at Manoa.
markets and their connection with the global Arn, Jack. 1995. Pathway to the periphery: Urbaniza-
labor market. In particular, what are the social tion, creation of a relative surplus population, and
costs of the government and private sectors’ political outcomes in Manila, Philippines. Urban
Anthropology 24:189–228.
practice of “product differentiation?” To what Asis, Maruja M.B. 1992. The overseas employment
extent does this contribute to the vulnerability program policy. In Philippine Labor Migration: Im-
and exploitation of migrant workers? pact and Policy, eds. Graziano Battistella and An-
I end with the caveat that I am not lobbying, thony Paganoni, 68–112. Quezon City, Philip-
per se, that we should assign “global city” status pines: Scalabrini Migration Center.
to Manila (or Colombo, Dhaka, Hyderabad); Ball, Rochelle. 1997. The role of the state in the glo-
rather, I am extending the discussion to include balisation of labour markets: The case of the Phil-
the nexus of Third World cities and the global ippines. Environment and Planning A 29:1603–28.
Beaverstock, Jonathan, and Joanne Smith. 1996.
economy, through an examination of global
Lending jobs to global cities: Skilled international
circuits of labor. To speak of a normative “glo- labour migration, investment banking and the city
bal city” risks reifying the diversity of cities into of London. Urban Studies 33:1377–94.
a homogenized abstract. Simultaneously, we Bello, Walden, David Kinley, and Elaine Elinson.
risk overlooking the significant differences 1982. Development Debacle: The World Bank in the
among cities in terms of their global functions, Philippines. San Francisco: Institute for Food
in large part differences resulting from unequal and Development Policy, Philippine Solidarity
positions in the world-system.  Network.
Bernard, Thomas L. 1970. United States immigra-
tion laws and the brain drain. International Migra-
Note tion 8:31–6.
Berner, Erhard. 1997. Defending a Place in the City:
1
The Philippines Overseas Employment Administra- Localities and the Struggle for Urban Land in Metro
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Bluestone, Barry, and Bennett Harrison. 1982. The
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———. 1997. Constructing images, constructing JAMES A. TYNER (Ph.D., University of Southern
policy: The case of Filipina migrant performing California) is an Assistant Professor in the Depart-
artists. Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Fem- ment of Geography, Kent State University, Kent,
inist Geography 4(1):19–35. OH 44242. His research interests include migration,
———. 1998. Asian labor recruitment and the World population, and Southeast Asia.

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