Arroyo orders POEA to identify countries needing more OFWs
MANILA, Philippines - With the increasing threat of massive retrenchments in some countries, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Wednesday ordered the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to scout for more job openings for overseas Filipino workers in other countries.
In Administrative Order 247, the President ordered the POEA to identify “Code Green" countries that are aggressively recruiting foreign workers and which are natural deployment sites for OFWs.
President Arroyo also signed AO 248 which directs the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to make available P250 million for the Filipino Expatriate Livelihood Support Fund to cushion the impact of the global crisis on OFWs who may be affected by retrenchments.
Under AO 248, the DOLE and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) were directed to set up help desks in every province to match the skills of retrenched or aspiring expatriate worker with available jobs in the country and abroad.
These twin moves came after the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei confirmed warnings by migrant groups that some 60,000 OFWs in Taiwan could lose their jobs starting next month.
More than 2,000 have already been retrenched since last month by several Taiwanese companies whose exports have been affected with the recession affecting the United States, Britain and some European countries.
President Arroyo said the proper response to these threats is to look for more job opportunioties lsewhere and at the same time give livelihood support for those affected.
"In these trying times for the Filipino expatriate worker, the government should not sit idly and do nothing. It is now payback time for the government and the heroic efforts of the expatriate Filipino workers should not go unappreciated," she said.
Massive layoffs affecting OFWs would impact heavily on the Philippine economy, which is highly dependent on the remittance of overseas Filipinos.
Remittances this year has reached $14 billion as of October, up by 15.5 percent from last year's figure.
President Arroyo said an examination of the global employment map indicates that the sheer volume of new job markets, if properly exploited by the POEA, is adequate to fill up the possible slack that may be caused by the constricting market in traditional host countries such as the US.
She said the POEA has to update its list of country-contacts, global companies recruiting expatriate workers, international headhunters, and manpower placement agencies with a global reach.
She ordered the POEA to focus on countries such as Guam which will hire 20,000 Filipinos starting next month for the construction of a US military base, the United Arab Emirates which has a demand for 90,000 OFWs, and Canada.
Qatar has also expressed its intention to hire thousands of OFWs, which Saudi Arabia continues to accept Filipino workers with its expansion projects. – GMANews.TV
In Administrative Order 247, the President ordered the POEA to identify “Code Green" countries that are aggressively recruiting foreign workers and which are natural deployment sites for OFWs.
President Arroyo also signed AO 248 which directs the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to make available P250 million for the Filipino Expatriate Livelihood Support Fund to cushion the impact of the global crisis on OFWs who may be affected by retrenchments.
Under AO 248, the DOLE and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) were directed to set up help desks in every province to match the skills of retrenched or aspiring expatriate worker with available jobs in the country and abroad.
These twin moves came after the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei confirmed warnings by migrant groups that some 60,000 OFWs in Taiwan could lose their jobs starting next month.
More than 2,000 have already been retrenched since last month by several Taiwanese companies whose exports have been affected with the recession affecting the United States, Britain and some European countries.
President Arroyo said the proper response to these threats is to look for more job opportunioties lsewhere and at the same time give livelihood support for those affected.
"In these trying times for the Filipino expatriate worker, the government should not sit idly and do nothing. It is now payback time for the government and the heroic efforts of the expatriate Filipino workers should not go unappreciated," she said.
Massive layoffs affecting OFWs would impact heavily on the Philippine economy, which is highly dependent on the remittance of overseas Filipinos.
Remittances this year has reached $14 billion as of October, up by 15.5 percent from last year's figure.
President Arroyo said an examination of the global employment map indicates that the sheer volume of new job markets, if properly exploited by the POEA, is adequate to fill up the possible slack that may be caused by the constricting market in traditional host countries such as the US.
She said the POEA has to update its list of country-contacts, global companies recruiting expatriate workers, international headhunters, and manpower placement agencies with a global reach.
She ordered the POEA to focus on countries such as Guam which will hire 20,000 Filipinos starting next month for the construction of a US military base, the United Arab Emirates which has a demand for 90,000 OFWs, and Canada.
Qatar has also expressed its intention to hire thousands of OFWs, which Saudi Arabia continues to accept Filipino workers with its expansion projects. – GMANews.TV
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