Apparently, escaping money laundering prosecution is a major reason for rich Filipinos to emigrate to western countries. I think they might skew the numbers a bit. I even know this guy, his dad, and brother, who are here because they are evading taxes or something…
Why are there so many Filipino nurses in the US? This was the question posed to me by a curious TV reporter on May 7, just three days after a stretch limousine traveling across the San Mateo Bridge carrying nine Filipino nurses to a bridal party suddenly burst into flames killing five of the occupants, including the bride. (lol, great reporter)
Ann said that she was frankly surprised to learn that 20% of all the registered nurses in California are Filipinos, a considerably large percentage since Filipinos number only 2.3 million (officially 1.2 million) out of a state population of 38 million. There are push and pull factors that are at play, I explained. The main push factor is the poor Philippine economy where an average RN earns only about 5% of what an RN is paid in the US. The main pull factor is the nursing shortage in the US.
In Asia, filipino ladies have a few industries cornered. The most interesting one is hotel lounge cover bands, and they are good. If you’ve been trudging around some emerging market and come back to your hotel to grab a beer, and some band is playing a good cover of a bon jovi song, it’s like a bit of civilization.