MANILA -- "Dili man ko love nimo daddy! Maluoy man ka!"

(You don't love me, daddy! Have mercy!)

No father would ever want to hear such a plea from his child but an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) father in Davao had no choice.

A video of 5-year-old Vaniah Ayn Perdido crying for her father Joe Mar who had to work abroad went viral after her mother, Icar Yves, posted it on Facebook.

In the video taken at the Davao International Airport, Ayn repeatedly begs her father, Joe Mar, not to go back to Maldives as an OFW.

She goes on to say: "Uban ako (let me join you), daddy."

The video, which was posted November 12, has garnered more than 8 million views and more than 230,000 reactions. It has been shared more than 260,000 times.

Two days after, Perdido posted a photo of her with her children, Ayn and three-year old David, asking all OFWs to stay strong for their children.

Netizens have sympathized with the Perdidos, saying that leaving their families to earn more money abroad is one of the hardest thing to do.

Rising number of OFWs

Ayn is just one of the millions of children left by their parents while they work abroad.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), there are about 2.4 million OFWs in 2015, which is 100,000 higher than the 2.3 million tallied in 2014.

President Rodrigo Duterte is eyeing the creation of a new department to cater specifically to the needs of Filipinos who work abroad. Among the problems he wishes to address are the problems on red tape, and rising number of illegal recruitment cases.

• READ: Duterte to create department for OFWs

Lawmakers from the House of Representatives have created a technical working group to consolidate bills that aim to create the Department for Overseas Filipino Workers.

• READ: Lawmakers propose creation of OFW department