Senator Christopher “Bong” Go hss urged his colleagues to immediately act on the plight of millions of concerned Filipinos by continuing and prioritizing deliberations on one of the proposed measures that seek to create a Department of Overseas Filipinos.
Go, chairman of the Senate health and demography committee, made the appeal during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development chaired by Senator Joel Villanueva.
Legislators should take into consideration the situation of overseas Filipinos and their appeals to make government mechanisms more responsive to their needs, Go said.
He highlighted the urgency for the Legislature to find a viable solution on how to better respond to the increasing concerns of overseas Filipinos.
“Marami namang concerns ngayon na dapat nating asikasuhin (There are several concerns now that have to be acted upon…) and this should not take a back seat. While we are financially constrained, this should not stop us from doing our job and looking for better ways to improve our government. Ituloy po natin ang diskusyon (let us continue the discussion) and let us see how we can improve further this proposed measure,” Go said.
During the regular session of the Senate yesterday afternoon, Go emphasized that the bill must be prioritized by the chamber given the urgency of the matter it seeks to address and the fact that this is one of the priority measures of the Duterte Administration.
“The budget appropriated to agencies will be utilized for this new department and will no longer incur additional burden to our financial struggles — rather it will unburden our bureaucracy and streamline functions, so we can respond better and properly maximize the resources we need,” he said in a manifestation during the session.
He stressed that many overseas Filipinos, who comprise 10 percent of the Filipino population, have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to struggle to access government aid and find new economic opportunities.
“Simple lang po ang layunin ng batas na ito. Gusto natin na magkaroon ng isang ahensya ng gobyerno na magsisilbing timon para sa lahat ng concerns ng ating mga kababayan sa ibang bansa. Para naman po ito sa ikabubuti ng mahigit sampung milyong Pilipino na nakikipagsapalaran po sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng mundo,’’ he explained. (The measure aims for a simple objective. We want an agency of the government that manages all the concerns of our compatriots in other countries. This is for the good of more than ten million Filipinos living in the different parts of the world.)
He also cited the difficulties on the ground that various government agencies are dealing with due to the lack of a holistic mechanism to address the needs of Filipinos abroad.
“Kadalasan, hindi nila alam kung saan sila pupunta. Pinagpasa-pasahan sila. Huwag naman po sana ganito ang ating gobyerno. Suklian natin ang kanilang sakripisyo ng maayos at maaasahang serbisyo,’’ he stressed. (Most of the time, they do not know where to go. They are being passed around. The government should not be like this. Let’s repay their sacrifices with proper and reliable service.)
“Tinatawag nga natin silang mga bagong bayani natin. Mahirap po, kadalasan nananawagan sila dito sa Facebook, sa radyo, kahit saan na lang po sila humihingi ng saklolo at saksi naman tayo lahat diyan, lalong-lalo na po itong pandemyang ito. Kahit saan na lang sila humihingi ng tulong makarating lang po sa gobyerno ang kanilang mga hinaing at hinihinging tulong,’’ he said. (We call them as our new heroes. It’s hard, most of the time they call for help on Facebook, radio, and everywhere that could be a possible vehicle to reach the government, and all of us are a witness to this, especially, during this pandemic.)
Go clarified that a series of consultations were conducted by the Executive Department, led by Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, to coordinate and consolidate their concerns which resulted in a unified Executive position supporting the passage of the measure and addressing concerns raised by various stakeholders.
“Hindi po ito pagdagdag sa ating burukrasya (This is not an addition to the bureaucracy). Rather, this is a measure to streamline government services and improve bureaucratic responsiveness,” said Go.
“Kaysa naman hiwa-hiwalay ang ating mga ahensya na nagsisilbi sa ating mga overseas Filipinos, hindi po ba mas magandang nasa iisang bubong na lang sila at iisang team, iisang mandato po?,’’ he asked. (Instead of having several agencies of the government serving our overseas Filipinos, is it not better to have them housed under one roof as a team with one mandate?)
Go stated that the President had shown his steadfast position on the matter when he called for the creation of the proposed department in the last two of his State of the Nation Addresses (SONAs) and various other public pronouncements.
“Sana po ay alalahanin natin na sila ang pinaka-nangangailangan dito. Pakinggan po natin sila at intindihin natin kung saan sila nanggagaling. At the end of the day, para naman po ito sa kanila, sa kabutihan po nila, ang ating isunusulong nating batas,’’ he said. (I hope we will consider those who are really in need of this. Let us listen to them and understand where they are coming from. At the end of the day, this proposed legislation that we are pushing is for them, for their own good.)
“Nandito po tayo hindi para maghain lamang ng mga batas na hindi kailangan. Nandito po tayo para magbigay po ng solusyon sa mga kinakaharap na problema ng ating mga mamamayan,’’ he argued. (We are here not to file useless legislations. We are here to provide solution to the problems that our countrymen are facing.)
Go also echoed what Cabinet Secretary Nograles has said that the proposed DOOF is a promise of the President to the people, whose primary purpose is the protection of the welfare of the overseas Filipinos and their families.
Nograles also explained in the hearing that the proposed department is not an unnecessary addition to the bureaucracy but is rather an amalgamation only where concerned agencies dealing with overseas Filipinos will simply be put under a single department.
“It consolidates the budgetary allocations to a single public entity to better and more efficiently serve,” Nograles said as he explained that the budget required to operate the new department will also be taken from the existing budgets of concerned agencies to be subsumed.
Senate Bill (SB) 1835, filed by Go on September 16, 2020, is the second iteration of SB 202 he filed last year. It considers inputs from the concerned executive agencies and has been endorsed by the Office of the Cabinet Secretary and Presidential Legislative Liaison Office to the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development.
“Sana po ay bigyan natin ng importansya ang ating mga OFWs at iba pang overseas Filipino. Mahirap po mapalayo sa pamilya, hindi po nababayaran ang lungkot. Bigyan natin sila ng importansya. Sana po ay maisakatuparan na itong Department of Overseas Filipinos,’’ he said. (I hope we can provide importance to our OFWs and other overseas Filipinos. It’s hard to be away from the family, you cannot pay for sadness. Let’s give them importance. I hope we can implement this Department of Overseas Filipinos.)
“Sa mga kasamahan ko po, sa mga colleagues ko, sana po ay tulungan natin, sana po ay mapag-usapan natin ito, sana po ay maisakatuparan na rin po ito,’’ he added. (To my colleagues, I hope we can help them , let’s talk about it and make it a reality.)