Velasco backs urgency of creation of Department of OFW

Published October 29, 2020 11:38am Speaker Lord Allan Velasco is supporting the passage of a law creating a Department of Overseas Filipino Workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have seen the return of OFWs in droves after they lost their jobs, and thousands more are expected to come home with the global economy in slump. President Duterte’s statement that he will certify as urgent the measure for the creation of the Department of OFWs is very timely in order to address the woes confronting our migrant workers in these difficult times,” Velasco said in a statement. “At the same time, [this new department will] help them transition when the global economy begins to reopen and return to pre-pandemic level,” Velasco added. Velasco cited that the remittances of OFWs provided a steady stream of foreign exchange to the Philippine economy, accounting for 9.8% of the country’s gross domestic product and 7.8% of the national income in 2019. “This is the campaign promise of the President and we will see to it that it will become a reality. Our modern day heroes need not hurt anymore,” Velasco pointed out. Another 70,000 remain stranded worldwide as of October 1, 2020. The House of Representatives has already approved its own version of the measure, House Bill No. 5832 or the Department of Filipino Overseas (DFO) Act, last March. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, however, said in June that allocating funds for the new department, including P1 billion to P5 billion for helping distressed OFWs alone, is problematic since the proposed measure for the creation of the said department does not provide where to get those funds aside from the General Fund. — Llanesca T. Panti/RSJ, GMA News

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