Villanueva urges approval of Dep’t of Migration as ASEAN leaders sign pact on migrant workers


By KATHRINA CHARMAINE ALVAREZ, GMA News
Senator Joel Villanueva on Wednesday appealed for the approval of the proposed creation of a separate department for migrant workers to “complement” the landmark agreement signed by leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In a series of tweets, Villanueva said the signing of the ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of Rights of Migrant Workers is a welcome move.
“This agreement will definitely benefit our OFWs. Truly, there is a need to do so especially since we are in an era where our countrymen have increasingly chosen to work abroad,” Villanueva, chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development, said.
“The agreement will complement and strengthen our pending bills in the Senate to improve the benefits and protection of our OFWs. One example is the creation of a separate Department for Migrant Workers,” he added.
The proposed creation of said department pending before Villanueva's committee seeks to solely cater to the concerns of migrant workers while “eliminating bureaucracy in OFW assistance.”
“With the recently signed ASEAN consensus, we are confident that our efforts and advocacies in the legislative department would be given adequate attention for the sake of providing sustainable future for our citizens here and abroad,” Villanueva said.
A counterpart bill is also pending in the committee level at the House of Representatives.
Based on the recent data presented by Susan "Toots" Ople, founder and president of Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, there are 247 million international migrants around the world, of which five percent are Filipinos.
On Tuesday night, leaders of the ASEAN member-states signed the landmark agreement on the protection of migrant workers.
The agreement has provisions that include allowing laborers to join unions and prohibiting employers from confiscating their workers' passports.
Other provisions include upholding fair treatment of migrant workers with respect to gender and nationality, providing for visitation rights by family members, ensuring the protection of their right to access information pertaining to their employment and employment-related conditions, and respecting their right to fair and appropriate remuneration and benefits.
"The implementation of the ASEAN Consensus will be subject to the respective laws of the ASEAN Member States," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. —ALG, GMA News

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