A foreign affairs official overseeing the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers during the coronavirus pandemic has been nominated to serve in the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The Philippine government has recommended the appointment of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola for the position of Deputy Director General for Management and Reform of the IOM, the Palace announced Thursday.
Arriola has served as head of the Migrant Workers' Affairs section of the DFA since 2017. She was the first woman appointed to that post.
In a statement, the Presidential Communications Operations Office cited Arriola as "an adept and accomplished migration management practitioner and human rights specialist."
"She also advocates for change management and ethical and decent work within the department that are anchored on core IOM operational characteristics of agility, transparency, and accountability," the statement read.
"In her sterling years in public service, Arriola is a results-oriented leader who is renowned for her fast, responsive, and dynamic actions, especially in concerns of migration and other IOM issues, citing her expertise in handling institutional challenges and reformation," it added.
Arriola received the Grand Cross (Gawad Mabini, Dakilang Kamanong) from President Duterte in June 2019 for her contribution to the negotiations of a global migration pact. The Philippines became one of of the first countries in the world to mainstream the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), an intergovernmental negotiated agreement, and prepared under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), according to the Palace.
Arriola holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo Law School as well as as a master of laws degree in international human rights law from the University of Essex.
The IOM, established in 1951, is the world's leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration. It advocates the principle of "humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society," according to its website.
In June 2019, the IOM council extended the term of Deputy Director General Laura Thomson pending a new selection process scheduled for Spring 2020. Thompson was supposed to have completed her term last September 2020.