If elected, aspiring president Vice President Leni Robredo will enter into more bilateral labor agreements with other countries for the protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

During the virtual launch of the Solid Leni-Kiko Global on Friday, Feb. 18, Robredo said that existing labor agreements are not enough so she intends to enter into more with foreign countries in a bid to provide better support system for migrant workers.

"Papasok tayo sa mas maraming bilateral labor agreements. Actually, bago ako nag-online, tinitignan ko yung mga existing na bilateral agreements natin, kulang na kulang pa siya (We will enter into more bilateral labor agreements. Actually, before I went online, I checked our existing bilateral agreements, it is not enough)," Robredo said.

The Vice President added that she aims to forge bilateral agreements with countries that have high concentration to Filipino workers to add a layer of protection for them.

"So yun, yun yung ie-endavor natin gawin para siguradong napoprotektahan yung mga kababayan natin. Sisiguraduhin din natin na naipapatupad ng maayos yung mga existing na mga bilateral agreements, lalo na nga sa mga bansa sa, example, Middle East, o some parts of Asia, na maraming OFWs para siguraduhin na napoproktetahan natin at naisusulong yung mga karapatan ninyo (That's what we are going to endeavor to ensure the protection of our fellowmen. We will also make sure that existing bilateral agreements are implemented, especially in countries in Middle East or some parts of Asia, that have a lot of OFWs to ensure that their rights are protected)," Robredo said.

The presidential aspirant further said that she will be strategic in entering agreements, adding that she intends to prioritize countries where cases of contract violations and abuses frequently happen.

"Kung hindi sila willing pumasok sa mga bilateral agreements, baka mas mabuti na i-review natin kung magpapadala pa ba tayo, magpapadala pa ba tayo ng mga workers sa bansa nila considering na hindi natin sila kayang protektahan (If they are not willing to enter into agreements, perhaps it would be better to review if we should continue deploying workers to them considering that we would not be able to protect them)," Robredo said.

Other plans she mentioned during the virtual meet was to improve the coverage of benefits offered to workers in the Philippines to entice Filipinos to work here, to provide "better chances of success" locally, and the creation of OFW reintegration pension fund for returning OFWs.

Supporters from United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Middle East, and Europe attended the meeting.