Senate OKs OFW Department bill on third reading

By CONSUELO MARQUEZ, GMA News Published December 14, 2021 4:39pm The Senate on Tuesday approved on third reading the measure seeking to establish the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos (DMWOF). Voting 20-0-0, the legislators approved Senate Bill No. 2234, which seeks to protect the rights and promote the welfare and interest of overseas Filipino workers and other overseas Filipinos. Under the bill, the Department will absorb all functions and mandates of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and will be the primary agency under the Executive Branch of the government tasked to protect the rights and promote the welfare of OFWs and other OFs. The following agencies will also be transferred to DMWOF: The POEA, as created under the Executive Act No. 247 and The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act, as amended; The Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) of the DFA as provided under The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act, as amended; The Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO); All Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) under the [Department of Labor and Employment]; The International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) under the DOLE; The National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) under the [Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration]; The National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) under the DOLE; and The International Social Services Office (ISSO) under the [Department of Social Welfare and Development]. Also, the measure indicated that the department will formulate, plan, coordinate, promote, administer, and implement policies, and undertake systems for regulating, managing, and monitoring the overseas employment of Filipino workers and reintegration of OFWs and other OFs, while taking into consideration the national development programs formulated by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). The DMWOF shall be composed of a secretary, four undersecretaries, and assistant secretaries. The four offices of the undersecretaries would be: Office of the Undersecretary for Internal Management and Administration Office of the Undersecretary for Foreign Employment and Welfare Services Office of the Undersecretary for Licensing and Adjudication Office of the Undersecretary for Policy and International Cooperation and Special Overseas Filipino Concerns. Meanwhile, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration will be attached to the DMWOF for policy and program coordination. The OWWA Fund will be declared a Provident Trust Fund, which will be used for the retirement, death, and disability benefits of OFWs. Senator Joel Villanueva, the sponsor of the bill, said the passage of the bill was a "Christmas gift" for all OFWs, who "sacrificed so much for their family and the country." "Their (OFWs) generous remittances is P3 million every minute. Kaya isang malaking pagtanaw ng utang na loob at isang makabuluhang pamasko para sa mga OFWs ang pagpasa dito sa Senado ang Department of Migrant workers," said Villanueva, who is also the chair of Senate Labor Committee, during his speech at the Senate session. (The passage of the bill is a good way to acknowledge their sacrifices and it is also a Christmas gift for OFWs.) However, Villanueva stressed that the country is not pushing for overseas employment. "We are in unison that it is not the policy of the state to promote overseas employment and it is our common aspiration Filipinos will work abroad only out of choice and not of necessity," said Villanueva. Senator Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, commended the provisions of the bill which recognized the rights of OFWs regardless of status. But she maintained that labor migration should not be made an economic policy. "Habang nauunawaan ko na dapat natin tugunan ang mga kagyat na pangangailangan ng ating mga bagong bayaning OFW, nangangarap ako na makamit natin ang isang lipunan na walang nanay na mawawalay sa kanyang mga anak, walang tatay na hindi makikita ang bunso na mag-graduate, walang Ate or Kuya na kailangang magtrabaho bilang kasambahay sa ibang bansa para lang makapagpatuloy sa pag-aaral ang mga kapatid," Hontiveros told her colleagues at the Senate session. (While I understand that we need to address the needs of our modern heroes OFW, I am still wishing that we can have a society in which parents will not need to leave their children or those who do not need to work as house help in other countries so that they can fund their siblings' education.) — DVM, GMA News