It has been shown that migrants tended to cluster by geographic location, with the exception of Metro Manila which attracted large volumes of migrants from all regions in the country. For analytical purposes and to circumvent the difficulty of small number of cases, aggregated groupings have been adopted in later analysis. The population can conventionally be grouped by the broad island groups, that is, Luzon (excluding Metro Manila), Visayas and Mindanao and Metro Manila. This grouping was chosen because of the similarity not only in their migration pattern by also in their cultural background.
Table 3.10 shows the aggregate of the migration streams presented in Table 3.7, but categorised by broad region. Of the aggregated total number of 197,800 inter regional migrants from a region in Luzon, 123,956 or 63 per cent went to Metro
Manila. On the other hand, 66936 or 45 per cent of the inter-regional migrants from the Visayas went to Metro Manila. The corresponding figure from Mindanao was only 11452 or 15 per cent. Perez (1991: 16) attributed the dominance of Metro Manila and other more developed regions in attracting migrants to urban bias in the investment priorities.
Interestingly, the stream between regions in Luzon was almost as large as that originating from Metro Manila to Luzon; these streams combined are tantamount to the volume migrating to Metro Manila from Luzon. The total volume of migrants to the whole Visayas was smaller than that leaving the Visayas for Mindanao alone and slightly larger than the aggregate flows within Mindanao. (See Fig. 3.1.) This finding conforms to Goldstein's (1983 12) idea that high migration rates indicate that a self- correcting factor operates in the process. He added that the impact of migration on both the cities and the migrants themselves may not be as serious as it may seem and migration may be treated as a factor in adjusting the population dynamics.
In Table 3.11, out-migrants are presented as a percentage of the total female population residing in the major island groups in 1975. The table shows that during the period 1975-80, about two in fifty female population in the Visayas left their region of residence. Around one in every 50 female population in Luzon or the Visayas migrated to Metro Manila. Over one per cent of the Visayan female population in 1975 resided in Mindanao in 1980. Visayas, being intermediate between Metro Manila and Mindanao, had about the same percentage of the migrants from these two regions, which is in agreement with the gravity theory. In addition, the data further reinforced the importance of population exchanges between contiguous regions. To the extent that migrants from Mindanao to Metro Manila comprised a relatively small number, the result corroborates the previous finding that long-distance movement is no longer a phenomenon in the late 1970s (Cabegin, n.d.: 441-443). Perez (1991, 15) explained that the Visayas-Luzon migration pattern 'reinforces the impact on population spatial mobility of the location of opportunities and other environmental conditions influenced by political and socio-economic development. Luzon has the momentum and the
prerequisite condition for overall development which promulgated the long-distance Visayas-Luzon stream.'
Fig. 3.1.
Female Migration Streams Between Broad Regions, Philippines: 1975-80
Table 3.10.
Female Migrants Aggregated by Broad Region by Broad Region of Origin by Broad Region of Destination, 1980
1975 Broad
Region of Origin Luzon*
1980 Broad Region of Destination
Visayas Mindanao Metro Manila
Total Out-migrants Luzon* 60 056 6 624 7 164 123 956 197 800 Visayas 24 400 11 892 46 220 66 936 149 448 Mindanao 7 140 13 680 41 812 11 452 74 048 Metro Manila 62 692 10 952 4 140 - 77 784 Total In-migrants 154 252 43 148 99 336 202 344 499080
Source: Primary Tabulation from the 1980 Census of Population 5%-sample tape File. Notes: Excludes Metro Manila (MM).
Females 15 years old and over whose region of residence in 1980 differs from that in 1975.
Table 3.11.
Percentage of Female MigrantsA Aggregated by Broad Region to Total Female Population in 1975 by Broad Region of Origin by Broad Region of Destination: 1980
1975 Broad Region of Origin Population
1980 Broad Region of Destination Luzon Visayas Mindanao MM
% % % % Total Per Cent Out-migrants Total Out-migrants 1975-80 Total Females in 1975 Luzon* 1.0 0.1 0.1 2.1 3.3 197800 6033340 Visayas 0.7 0.3 1.3 1.9 4.3 149448 3506194 Mindanao 0.2 0.5 1.4 0.4 2.5 74048 3005300 Metro Manila 3.1 0.5 0.2 - 3.9 77784 2012073 Total In-migrants 154252 43148 99336 202344 3.4 499080 14556907
Source: Primary Tabulation from the 1980 Census of Population 5%-sample tape file and NCSO, 1978.
Legend: MM = Metro Manila. Note: ^Excludes Metro Manila.
AFemales 15 years old and over whose region of residence in 1980 differs from that in 1975.
Table 3.12 shows the percentage of the migration stream which comprised the female population in each broad region in 1980. Streams originating in Luzon to Metro Manila comprised the largest percentage (6 per cent) of the female population of Metro Manila. This is followed by the stream originating in the Visayas which comprised a total of 3 per cent. The percentage of Mindanao's population in 1980 originating in the Visayas slightly exceeded that originating in Mindanao. The Visayan regions had the smallest migrant component in their population. Clearly, the role of each broad region in population redistribution has been depicted.
Table 3.12.
Percentage of Female In-MigrantsA Aggregated by Broad Region to Total Female Population in 1980 by Broad Region of Origin by Broad Region of Destination: 1980
1975 1980 Broad Region of Destination Total
Broad Region of Origin Luzon % Visayas % Mindanao % Metro Manila % Out- Migrants Luzon* 1.0 0.2 0.2 6.1 197800 Visayas 0.4 0.4 1.6 3.3 149448 Mindanao 0.1 0.4 1.4 0.6 74048 NCR 1.1 0.3 1.1 - 77784 Total % In-migrants 2.7 1.3 3.4 9.9 3.6 Total In-migrants 154252 43148 99336 202344 499080
Total Per Cent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Total Females in 1980 5778884 3250212 2951932 2042740 14023768
Source: Primary Tabulation from the 1980 Census of Population 5%-sample tape File. Note: * Excludes NCR (Metro Manila)
A Females 15 years old and over whose region of residence in 1980 differs from that in 1975.