Senatorial aspirant Jinggoy Estrada, who is running under the ticket of survey frontrunners presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos and vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte-Carpio, believes the government must aggressively negotiate with countries that still owe Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) their pending financial claims.
Estrada, who filed bills for the welfare of OFWs during his lengthy Senate stint from 2004 to 2016, supported the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE’s) deployment ban on OFWs to Saudi Arabia.
However, the ex-solon said it should only be lifted once the issues on unpaid salaries of some 11,000 OFWs are resolved.
While he supported DOLE’s decision, Estrada said it "should move faster in representing the concerned OFWs and in resolving the issue".
Estrada said the livelihood of the affected families is already "at stake due to the delay".
Estrada added that while the deployment ban sends a good message to foreign governments about the country’s strong resolve to protect its citizens, "Many OFWs and families who rely on them suffer as collateral damage."