OVERSEAS Filipino worker (OFW) rights advocate Susan “Toots” Ople has been appointed Secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) by President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Ople has spent years working for OFW rights as the head of the Blas Ople Policy Center, which helps distressed OFWs all over the world.
When the new administration takes office, her top priority will be to implement the Department of Migrant Workers Act and ensure that the DMW structure is capable of resolving the problems of OFWs and their families, she said in an interview with CNN Philippines.
The newly formed DMW is expected to operate in 2023.
Among her priorities is the establishment of a system review to protect OFWs from being recruited by unscrupulous employers as well as look into the implementation of the Ease of Doing Business Act, the hike in PhilHealth contributions, and the imposition of mandatory insurance which are all main concerns of the sector.
“I know the issues. I’m familiar with them. But it’s also a heavy responsibility because first, we need to put up a structure to be able to address these issues and concerns,” the new DMW chief said.
Her father, the late Foreign Affairs secretary and senator Blas Ople, was labor secretary for 17 years under former President Ferdinand Marcos, and was credited with pushing several reforms in the department, including allowing local workers to work abroad.
Toots Ople is a Harvard Kennedy School and University of Santo Tomas graduate. She was the first Filipino to serve on the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking./PN
