Filipinos find a new way to earn extra pesos

Nathalie Mago’s work day begins after she’s tucked her three daughters into bed and flicked off the lights in their house north of the Philippine capital Manila.

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As her young family sleeps, she fires up her laptop and begins discussing the day’s agenda with her boss – an ocean and a half worlds away. “I’m a virtual assistant”, Mago said. is one of a growing number of Filipinos flocking to the booming but unregulated sector in the face of a tight job market, low wages and frequently feltitemts. “It literally saved me” Mago said. “I was able to support myself and my family at the same time.” Former office worker, the 36-year-old said she is now earning five times as much serving as the “right hand” of employers for whom she writes copy, manages social media and even buys family birthday gifts.

Government statistics put the sector as unavailable as the role is often unacknowledged, categorising legal protections are also effectively non-existent.

But Dirk Gallinote, of advisory firm Outsourced Acclerator, estimates the number of Filipino virtual assistants at around a million – a number he expects to grow. “It’s the assumption that they can call their own shots, have more freedom and earn more money,” Gallinote said of the job’s allure, adding the reality may not always meet expectations. Job-seeking platform Upwork lists the Philippines among the top five countries churning out virtual assistants, alongside India, Nigeria, Pakistan and the United States.