The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People (CBCP-ECMI) paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II and expressed gratitude to her for welcoming thousands of overseas Filipino workers to the United Kingdom.
Balanga Bataan Bishop Ruperto C. Santos, vice-chairman of the commission, and Stella Maris Philippines Bishop-Promoter expressed sadness over the passing of Her Majesty on September 8 as he cited the maternal role that she played to all migrant workers in the UK.
“Queen Elizabeth II showed her maternal impartiality and religious fairness when she allowed our migrant workers to practice their Christian faith,” Bishop Santos said over Radio Veritas.
“She also welcomed and accepted our overseas Filipino workers with care, love, and maternal protection. Our medical service workers in the UK are recognized because of their hard work, honesty and dedication especially during this COVID-19 pandemic,” the Church leader said.
Records of the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2020 showed there are about 1.77 million OFWs working across Europe, more than 770,000 of the number are based in the United Kingdom.