MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte’s planned Department of Overseas Filipinos will absorb the functions of various executive offices tasked to handle concerns of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go said the job of several agencies for matters pertaining to OFWs will be transferred to the proposed department, as stated in his Senate Bill No. 202.
These agencies are: the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Foreign Affairs – Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, Commission on Filipino Overseas, and International Labor Affairs Bureau.
“This legislative measure proposes the establishment of a Department of Overseas Filipinos to serve as the umbrella agency to specifically address all the issues and concerns of Filipinos abroad and their families,” Go said.
The POEA is the main agency assigned to monitor and supervise recruitment agencies in the Philippines, while OWWA is an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment formed to promote the welfare of OFWs.
“Masakit makitang iniiwan ng mga kababayan natin ang mga pamilya at mahal nila sa buhay upang makapagtrabaho lamang sa mga malalayong lugar. Suklian natin ang kanilang sakripisyo ng mas maayos na serbisyo para sa kanila at kanilang mga pamilya,” Go said.
Duterte on Friday said the OFW department, which aims to prevent the intervention of “exploitative illegal recruiters” that victimize OFWs, will be created by December.
Around 10 million Filipinos are abroad and their remittances are lifelines to the Philippine economy./PN
