Manila Bulletin
Philippines
Go pushes for immediate passage of proposed Department of Overseas Filipino Workers
Philippines
Go pushes for immediate passage of proposed Department of Overseas Filipino Workers
Go pushes for immediate passage of proposed Department of Overseas Filipino Workers
Published Jun 12, 2020 12:00 am
By Mario Casayuran
Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Friday pushed for the immediate passage of the proposed Department of Overseas Filipino Workers (DOFW) bill as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues to affect Filipino migrant workers, with most of them losing their jobs abroad and forced to return home.
Sen. Bong Go
(Office of Sen. Bong Go / MANILA BULLETIN) “Maraming nawalan ng trabaho dala ng COVID-19. Apektado po ang mga empleyado dito sa bansa at pati rin ang mga nagtatrabaho abroad. Mas maisasaayos ang mga programa at serbisyo ng gobyerno para matulungan ang mga apektadong Pilipino kung mayroong sariling departamento na mamamahala sa mga pangangailangan ng mga OFWs,’’ Go said. (Many lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Employees in the country and those working abroad are both affected . Government programs and services for the affected Filipinos could be better implemented if there is a sole department mandated to manage the needs of our OFWs.) Go, chairman of the Senate Health and Demography Committee, stressed that there is an urgent need for the creation of this new department because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) needs to concentrate on domestic labor concerns while the DOFW bill, once enacted into law, will concentrate on OFWs for their full-cycle migration, from departure from the Philippines to working abroad until their eventual reintegration into the country. “Nararapat lamang na may tumutok sa mga pangangailangan ng OFWs lalo na yung mga napilitang bumalik sa bansa. Matagal rin po silang nagsakripisyo at nawalay sa kanilang mga pamilya. Hindi po matutumbasan ang hirap na dinanas nila para lang buhayin ang mga pamilya nilang iniwan dito,” Go explained. (It is but right to take care of the needs of OFWs now that they are being forced to come home. They have sacrificed a lot and have been separated from their families. Their sacrifices to give a better life to their families could not be repaid.) “Ngayon na napilitan silang umuwi dahil sa krisis, dapat lang bigyan ng sapat na atensyon ang kanilang mga pangangailangan para matulungan ang ating mga bagong bayani na makabangon muli,’’ he added. (Now that they’re forced to return home, it is necessary to provide for their needs and help our new heroes to rise again.) According to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the government is expecting around 300,000 OFWs to return to the Philippines as a result of lockdowns in different parts of the world. As of May 25, 27,000 OFWs have already been repatriated while around 43,000 others are expected to come home this June. Because of the consequences of the pandemic, there is a growing need to provide reintegration programs for OFWs who would like to return and permanently settle in the country. There is also a need to improve coordination among all agencies and offices dealing with OFW concerns to improve government service delivery. Go said he suggested the need to establish an executive department dealing solely with OFW-related concerns to improve government efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of necessary services from deployment, issues they encounter while in foreign countries, as well as in their reintegration once they return to the Philippines. “Masakit makitang iniiwan nila ang kanilang mga mahal sa buhay upang magtrabaho lang sa mga malalayong bansa. Suklian natin ang kanilang mga sakripisyo ng mas maayos na serbisyo,’’ he added. (It is painful to see them leaving their loved ones just to work in far away countries. Let us repay their sacrifices with better services.) One of his first legislative measures, Senate Bill 202, the Department of Overseas Filipinos Act of 2019, seeks to address concerns of overseas Filipinos, such as the need to improve coordination among concerned offices in responding to their needs, particularly OFWs. The bill proposes for government agencies dealing with OFW matters and concerns to be transferred to the new department to be established. Go said that the DOFW’s reintegration component will ensure that Filipino migrant workers who lost their job abroad are assisted by government programs and other safety nets, a need which has become more apparent as a result of the pandemic. “Under our DOFW bill, there will be an Office of the Undersecretary for Reintegration and Social Services which shall absorb the mandates and functions of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the National Reintegration Center for OFWs in addition to new functions,” Go said. The proposed measure also provides for the creation of OFW ‘one-stop shops’ in various provinces, similar to the Malasakit Center, that can provide immediate assistance to families of OFWs who are still working abroad, as well as to OFWs who have returned home and need to avail of reintegration services from the government. At present, DOLE is implementing WELL (Welfare, Employment, Legal, Livelihood) as a national reintegration program for returning OFWs or those affected by COVID-19. It is a package of interventions and mechanisms developed and implemented to facilitate the productive return of the OFWs to their families and communities upon their completion of overseas employment. WELL is implemented also in support of the government’s Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa (BP2) Program which seeks to promote economic development in the countryside and the decongestion of Metro Manila. Aside from the programs of DOLE, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) also offers free training programs for returning OFWs. Go stressed that the challenges currently faced by Overseas Filipinos and the difficulties experienced by the government in responding to their needs show the relevance of establishing the new department to better provide efficient and effective delivery of services to Filipinos abroad and to those coming home. In a Senate hearing last May 20, Go reported the issues faced by OFWs, such as being forced to stay in health quarantine facilities beyond the mandated fourteen-day quarantine period, and OFWs in distress not being able to return home immediately to the country and to their provinces due to limitations in the delivery of services from various concerned government agencies.
Sen. Bong Go(Office of Sen. Bong Go / MANILA BULLETIN) “Maraming nawalan ng trabaho dala ng COVID-19. Apektado po ang mga empleyado dito sa bansa at pati rin ang mga nagtatrabaho abroad. Mas maisasaayos ang mga programa at serbisyo ng gobyerno para matulungan ang mga apektadong Pilipino kung mayroong sariling departamento na mamamahala sa mga pangangailangan ng mga OFWs,’’ Go said. (Many lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Employees in the country and those working abroad are both affected . Government programs and services for the affected Filipinos could be better implemented if there is a sole department mandated to manage the needs of our OFWs.) Go, chairman of the Senate Health and Demography Committee, stressed that there is an urgent need for the creation of this new department because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) needs to concentrate on domestic labor concerns while the DOFW bill, once enacted into law, will concentrate on OFWs for their full-cycle migration, from departure from the Philippines to working abroad until their eventual reintegration into the country. “Nararapat lamang na may tumutok sa mga pangangailangan ng OFWs lalo na yung mga napilitang bumalik sa bansa. Matagal rin po silang nagsakripisyo at nawalay sa kanilang mga pamilya. Hindi po matutumbasan ang hirap na dinanas nila para lang buhayin ang mga pamilya nilang iniwan dito,” Go explained. (It is but right to take care of the needs of OFWs now that they are being forced to come home. They have sacrificed a lot and have been separated from their families. Their sacrifices to give a better life to their families could not be repaid.) “Ngayon na napilitan silang umuwi dahil sa krisis, dapat lang bigyan ng sapat na atensyon ang kanilang mga pangangailangan para matulungan ang ating mga bagong bayani na makabangon muli,’’ he added. (Now that they’re forced to return home, it is necessary to provide for their needs and help our new heroes to rise again.) According to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the government is expecting around 300,000 OFWs to return to the Philippines as a result of lockdowns in different parts of the world. As of May 25, 27,000 OFWs have already been repatriated while around 43,000 others are expected to come home this June. Because of the consequences of the pandemic, there is a growing need to provide reintegration programs for OFWs who would like to return and permanently settle in the country. There is also a need to improve coordination among all agencies and offices dealing with OFW concerns to improve government service delivery. Go said he suggested the need to establish an executive department dealing solely with OFW-related concerns to improve government efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of necessary services from deployment, issues they encounter while in foreign countries, as well as in their reintegration once they return to the Philippines. “Masakit makitang iniiwan nila ang kanilang mga mahal sa buhay upang magtrabaho lang sa mga malalayong bansa. Suklian natin ang kanilang mga sakripisyo ng mas maayos na serbisyo,’’ he added. (It is painful to see them leaving their loved ones just to work in far away countries. Let us repay their sacrifices with better services.) One of his first legislative measures, Senate Bill 202, the Department of Overseas Filipinos Act of 2019, seeks to address concerns of overseas Filipinos, such as the need to improve coordination among concerned offices in responding to their needs, particularly OFWs. The bill proposes for government agencies dealing with OFW matters and concerns to be transferred to the new department to be established. Go said that the DOFW’s reintegration component will ensure that Filipino migrant workers who lost their job abroad are assisted by government programs and other safety nets, a need which has become more apparent as a result of the pandemic. “Under our DOFW bill, there will be an Office of the Undersecretary for Reintegration and Social Services which shall absorb the mandates and functions of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the National Reintegration Center for OFWs in addition to new functions,” Go said. The proposed measure also provides for the creation of OFW ‘one-stop shops’ in various provinces, similar to the Malasakit Center, that can provide immediate assistance to families of OFWs who are still working abroad, as well as to OFWs who have returned home and need to avail of reintegration services from the government. At present, DOLE is implementing WELL (Welfare, Employment, Legal, Livelihood) as a national reintegration program for returning OFWs or those affected by COVID-19. It is a package of interventions and mechanisms developed and implemented to facilitate the productive return of the OFWs to their families and communities upon their completion of overseas employment. WELL is implemented also in support of the government’s Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa (BP2) Program which seeks to promote economic development in the countryside and the decongestion of Metro Manila. Aside from the programs of DOLE, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) also offers free training programs for returning OFWs. Go stressed that the challenges currently faced by Overseas Filipinos and the difficulties experienced by the government in responding to their needs show the relevance of establishing the new department to better provide efficient and effective delivery of services to Filipinos abroad and to those coming home. In a Senate hearing last May 20, Go reported the issues faced by OFWs, such as being forced to stay in health quarantine facilities beyond the mandated fourteen-day quarantine period, and OFWs in distress not being able to return home immediately to the country and to their provinces due to limitations in the delivery of services from various concerned government agencies.