Senators on Wednesday, January 25 urged the government to ramp up programs that are aimed at generating local employment so that more overseas Filipino workers (OFW) would choose to stay in the country than work abroad where they could be harmed.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the gruesome murder of oversease Filipino worker (OFW) Jullebee Ranara in Kuwait, should propel the Marcos administration to pursue, not only to strengthen the Philippine economy so that no Filipino would choose to leave the country in favor of a job abroad.
“The incident, which follows similar incidents in the past, necessitates the need for the government to provide our people with much-needed employment opportunities in the country with competitive compensation to alleviate the need for them to look for jobs elsewhere,” Gatchalian said in a statement on Wednesday, January 25.
“This was foremost in our mind in pursuing amendments to the Foreign Investments Act and Retail Trade Liberalization Act to attract international investors to set up and fully own domestic enterprises in the country and subsequently, generate more jobs,” he said.
“Because of these incidents, we must work hard to strengthen our economy so that eventually most of our compatriots who are now venturing abroad will not have to leave to work,” the senator further said.
Sen. Joel Villanueva is also pitched anew for his Senate Bill No. 129 or the proposed “Trabaho Para sa Lahat ng Pilipino Act” which establishes the National Employment Action Plan (NEAP) to set the direction for job creation.
“The solution is right before us, and it starts with the government and the private sector taking the same path in combatting unemployment and drawing up plans to provide a decent source of livelihood for our people,” Villanueva said during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs on the measure.
“We hope that through the establishment of the framework for our National Employment Action Plan, and with the help of our co-workers in the government and our partners in the private sector, we can create at least 1.7 million jobs annually,” he added.
At the same time, Villanueva urged the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to file the appropriate cases and seek justice for Ranara.
He said the DMW should review the policy on deployment in host countries based on the criteria laid down in the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.
“When do we impose a deployment ban and what are the qualifications for the ban to be lifted? Hindi po pwedeng flipflopping tayo sa ganitong polisiya lalo na at nakasalalay dito ang kapakanan ng ating mga OFWs (We cannot flipfloo in this kind of policies especially if the welfare of our OFWs here is at stake),” he said.
“While it is good to consider implementing a deployment ban, we also should continue to ensure that our OFWs are protected abroad, especially in countries that adhere to the Kafala system,” Villanueva further said.
Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito also said infrastructure development can help facilitate the reintegration of OFWs returning to the country.
Ejercito said the DMW should study how returning OFWs can benefit from the country’s infrastructure and industrialization programs and this should be part of the long-term plan of the government.
“When the infrastructure is already in place, I think with the creation of the growth nodes, we can already include the reintegration of our OFWs in this long-term comprehensive master plan,” Ejercito said.
At the same time, he said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) should prioritize the hiring of returning OFWs in building and operating the country’s major railway projects.
“I think that the DOTr would need itong mga skilled workers natin, especially sa mga railways and others,” he said.
Ejercito cited the North South Commuter Line, South Long Haul, and Mindanao Railway, are expected to spread development across the country’s rural areas and pave the way for growth development areas beyond Metro Manila and other major urban centers as among the infrastructure projects.
“Once we finish all of these, we will create growth development areas and growth nodes in every province. We will have industrial parks, commercial areas, food terminal,” Ejercito said.
“Di dapat Metro Manila, Cebu or Davao lang. Dapat yung mga provinces, magkaroon ng opportunities (It shouldn’t just be Metro Manila, Cebu or Davao. Our provinces should also have opportunities),” he added.