Reports on OFW suicides, handled with care 

CHEERS TO BusinessMirror, Daily Tribune, and Inquirer.net for the careful treatment of the rising incidents of suicide among Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong. Focusing on the risk factors involved in working abroad, the reports presented the experience of working abroad without sensationalism.

On April 23, the Senate consultative hearing of the Committee on Migrant Workers discussed the increase in suicide incidents among Filipino workers in Hong Kong. The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has recorded a total of six suicide cases in 2023, five in 2024, and one as of April 2025. 

The reports from BusinessMirror, Daily Tribune, and Inquirer.net reported suicide incidents, providing the background of vulnerability involved in working abroad, describing the situations that can overwhelm those who find themselves without much-needed moral support. 

Butch Fernandez of BusinessMirror and Kimberly Ojeda of Daily Tribune discussed the exploitation of OFWs by loan sharks and money laundering syndicates, with loan interests going as high as 48%. Maila Ager of Inquirer.net reported on the experience of infidelity of their partners that drives OFWs to suicide, rather than confront the challenge of returning home.

So far, the orientation seminars before departure include financial literacy training to help them manage finances, loans, and the avoidance of money laundering syndicates. The article notes the necessity of preparing OFWs about the stress and pressures that their work abroad can impose on partners and other members of the family, checking on government services that focus on the challenges of emotional and mental health for the workers and the families they leave behind. 

CMFR also cheers the careful choice of words in describing the problems confronting OFWs and their families, avoiding the negative connotation of 

inappropriate language:

• Fernandez of BusinessMirror used the word “rising number” to describe the increase in suicide incidents instead of exaggerating the situation by using the terms “skyrocketing” or “epidemic.”

• Ager of Inquirer.net used the term “took their own lives” to refer to people who died by suicide instead of the term “committed suicide.” 

Given the inherent sensitivity of the subject, CMFR welcomes the instructive intent of reporting suicide. Work abroad continues to draw Filipinos hoping to find better jobs and opportunities for better lives for their families. 

Presenting the problems that confront them requires care in the use of words so as to avoid negative connotations. Journalists should keep up with the changes in the work environments abroad so these stories remain relevant, in touch with authentic human experiences of Filipinos working abroad.