By Charissa Luci-Atienza The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) has expressed interest to review and scrutinize the consolidated and amended bill passed by a joint House panel seeking the creation of the Department of Filipinos Overseas and Foreign Employment. During the recent joint deliberations of House Committee on Government Reorganization and the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs on the measure, Undersecretary Edwin Bael asked the chairmen of the two panels to provide them with an amended copy of the proposed Act. "May we pray that the amended draft as a result of these amendments can still be commented on by us and if possible sent to us in soft copy with complete section? Because the last time, there were so many sections omitted and we could not comment on that," Bael told the joint panel. He even described as "extensive" the amendments introduced by the joint panel to the proposed Department of Overseas Filipinos Act. Batangas Rep. Mario Vittorio “Marvey” Mariño, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reorganization, assured that the joint panel would immediately act on Bael's request. "Whatever happens here, we will surely give you a copy," he said. He disclosed that the amended consolidated bill will be forwarded to the House Committee on Appropriations chaired by Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab to scrutinize the funding provision of the proposed Act. The House leader maintained that they will still consider the concerns and the proposed amendments of Overseas Filipino Workers' groups and other stakeholders to the bill. He said the bill can still be amended in the plenary. On Tuesday, the joint House panel passed a consolidated bill without provisions creating the Overseas Labor Relations Commission (OLRC) and the OFW Malasakit sa Kabayan Fund. During the joint panel's discussion on the bill, Raquel Bracero of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc (PASEI), sought the restoration of a provision creating the OLRC, which was scrapped by the joint panel as proposed by Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund "LRay" Villafuerte. It was Villafuerte who proposed that Sections 9, 18, 19, 23 to 56, which covered the creation of the OLRC and the OFW Malasakit sa Kabayan Fund, be deleted. His amendments were unanimously adopted by the joint panel. Villafuerte justified his proposal to scrap the provisions creating new offices and commissions and the OFW Malasakit sa Kabayan Fund, which shall be used exclusively to cover money claims of OFWs and seafarers against their foreign employers. The two provisions were incorporated into the Technical Working Group (TWG) bill presented by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda before the joint panel on Tuesday. "Under the bill, the new Department is empowered to create a task force, commission at any time. Once you put this into the bill, this will entail cost and staffing patterns and once the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) raises the red flag, it might delay the passage ," he said. "I am not opposing the creation of the offices. It can be done after the creation of the department," the deputy speaker for finance clarified. During the joint panel hearing, Villafuerte asked his colleagues to solely focus on the creation of the Department of Overseas Filipinos, even as he strongly opposed the mandatory insurance fund. "I really feel that there is no necessity to do that at this time. The amount should be further studied," he said. Under the TWG bill, the contribution, in the minimum amount of US$ 25 or its equivalent in the prevailing foreign exchange rates per OFW or seafarer deployed, shall be paid by the private recruitment agency and manning agency. "If you want to tax, insure anybody at this level, let us find another measure. I feel that it is unnecessary at this time. The OFWs are already overburdened to impose this at this time," Villafuerte said. "I understand the rationale behind this. But you cannot impose on a foreign employer to insure for local. The employer can choose whom they want to insure and I am not saying that there is no need for insurance. I am in favor of that, but I am in favor of approving this bill in the soonest possible time and if you want to add insurance, tax, that can be tackled in another venue, forum or bill," he pointed out. Salceda, who headed the TWG that consolidated the 39 bills, laments the scrapping of some key provisions of the proposed “Department of Filipinos Overseas Act of 2019.” "I spent 180 hours drafting this bill listening to everyone, reading all your position papers and trying to draft what is the national consensus on this highly -contentious issue," he said.