House begins tackling bills creating OFW department


By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News
The House of Representatives on Tuesday began its deliberations on bills which would create the Department of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) - a priority legislation for President Rodrigo Duterte.
During a joint meeting, the House Committees on Government Reorganization and Overseas Workers Affairs tackled the 31 bills filed to create the OFW department.
The meeting was attended by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, who himself authored one of the bills for the creation of the proposed government agency.
According to Cayetano, the Department of OFWs, if created, would be the focal agency to deal with the affairs and concerns of Filipino migrant workers.
"Nand'yan pa rin ang DOLE, nand'yan pa rin ang DFA, nand'yan pa rin ang problema, o pagkakataon na magturuan. The different is—this time around, number one, meron kang one person—lalaki o babae—he or she will be in the Cabinet. So meron maho-hold accountable ang Presidente na isang tao lang," he said.
"Secondly, there's one department that you will go to, and although they will coordinate with the other agencies least isa lang ang masisingil ninyo sa OFW Department," he added.
In a separate interview with reporters, Cayetano said they were aiming to have the proposed measure signed by the President before the year ended.
The House of Representatives planned on having plenary deliberations on the bill by the second week of November at the earliest, the Speaker explained.
"Marami talagang issues at maraming government agencies na may mga tanong. So to rationalize all of its functions, and to be able to explain to people bakit mas effective kung merong Department of Overseas Filipino Workers, that would be the challenge," Cayetano said.
"So if you're an OFW, nagkaproblema ka sa abroad, anong role ng DFA? Anong roles ng POEA, ng OWWA? Sinong magiging tao ng Department of OFW? Magkakaroon ba ng regional offices ang Department of OFW dito sa Pilipinas or magjo-join pa tayo sa DOLE?" he added.
While the creation of the Department of OFW would not be a "cure all," Cayetano was confident that its creation was a "giant step in the right direction."
Aside from the creation of the department, Cayetano's bill also sought to establish OFW Centers initially in countries where there were large concentrations of Filipino migrant workers to serve as "one-stop shops" for counseling and legal services, welfare assistance, and other programs.
The OFW department would also establish one-stop OFW Malasakit Centers in all provinces and major cities to ensure that services were delivered to OFWs and their families. — DVM, GMA News

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