Marcos vows to protect welfare of OFWs, strengthen partnerships with host countries By RICHA NORIEGA, GMA Integrated News

Published February 4, 2023 10:41pm President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has vowed to strengthen partnerships with countries that host overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). In his vlog released on Saturday, Marcos said the national government will ensure the protection of OFWs and their families in the Philippines as a way of acknowledging their contributions to the country. “Ang tanging maisusukli ko sa inyong hindi matatawarang kontribusyon sa ating lipunan ay masiguro ko ang inyong proteksyon, ang inyong kalagayan, at ang kalagayan ng mga naiwan ninyong pamilya sa ating bansa,” Marcos said. (To reciprocate your contributions to our nation, I will make sure that you and the families you left behind in our country are protected and taken care of.) “Ang tanging maisusukli ko ay ang patuloy na pagpapatibay ng ating ugnayan sa mga kinatawan ng bawat bansang kinaroroonan ninyo ganyan ang pakay natin lagi. Gaya noong isang araw tinipon natin ang ambassador ng iba’t ibang bansa sa Palasyo,” he added. (We will continue to strengthen our relationship with the officials of your host countries. That is our goal. Just the other day, we gathered the ambassadors of different countries in the Palace.) Marcos earlier met with the diplomatic corps for the traditional vin d’honneur held in Malacañang. The President also said that the national government will provide scholarships and housing to the families of OFWs. “Kung sila ay babalik at naghahanap ng bagong trabaho eh tutulungan natin sila training yung tinatawag na reskilling and upskilling dahil ito yung ibang trabaho na lumalabas na highly technical kaya’t itetraining natin ang ating mga OFW para kaya nila makipag kompetensya sa labor market sa buong mundo,” he said. (For OFWs who wish to come back and look for a new job, we will help them and train them, such as reskilling and upskilling, because some jobs are highly technical, so we will train our OFWs so that they can compete in the global labor market.) He said that the government will strive to build a strong economy in order to make the Philippines an attractive place to live and work for both foreigners and its own citizens. “Masipag, maasahan, mahusay, magaling makasama, at mag-adjust kung nasaan man sila yan ang Pinoy tinitingala ng ibang lahi at ginagalang sa kanilang mga larangan,” he added. (Hardworking, reliable, efficient, easy to get along with, and able to adjust wherever they are, Filipinos are always looked up to by other nationals and respected in their fields.) On Tuesday, Marcos said the Philippines is set to reach the upper-middle income status "very soon." The previous administration aspired to bring the country to upper-middle income status by 2020, but the economy went into a recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the World Bank’s updated standards, an upper middle-income economy or country has a gross national income (GNI) per capita of between $4,046 and $12,535. In 2019, the Philippines was categorized as a lower-middle-income country with a GNI per capita of between $1,006 and $3,955. —VBL, GMA Integrated News

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