"From now on call them Expat" - GMA

On GMA’s speech given at the presidential palace last Oct. 7, she suggested that OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) to be called Expatriates.

“One very, very well-known and well-paid Filipino working overseas says that we should begin to call our overseas Filipinos expatriates, because the nature of their job is increasingly more on skilled professions. And they should be called expatriates because expatriates usually get higher pay than if you just call them workers,”…

“The government and the people honor our overseas Filipinos, whether you call them OFWs, OCWs, or as Dante Ang likes to call them, Overseas Filipino Investors. And I agree that we should begin to call them expatriates rather than OFWs. But in any case, we honor them for their sacrifice and dedication to their work, their family and their nation.” …

“We welcome their contribution. But we are working towards the day when Filipinos no longer need to go abroad for a job. For the day that overseas work is just another career option and not the only choice they have to earn a living,”…

Expatriates comes from the Latin word ex (out of) and patria (country, motherland, fatherland).  It is commonly abbreviated as expat, which is defined as a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person’s upbringing or legal residence.

Is this some kinda branding or what? Because changing the term might arise some confusion. Want to know why, go check your dictionary to see what I mean.  If you don’t have time to grab that webster dictionary of yours here is the link for online translation defined according Collins Essential Thesaurus compiled by thefreedictionary.com

Now tell me honestly, do you really want to call us EXPAT or OFW?