ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider South Korea situation prompts DMW to create new guidelines for Pinoy seasonal workers 

South Korea situation prompts DMW to create new guidelines for Pinoy seasonal workers 

Published Feb 29, 2024 07:11 am

At A Glance

  • The House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs has received a commitment from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) for the crafting of new guidelines to ensure the protection and welfare of seasonal Filipino workers abroad. 

IMG-b03ad0057cb466126e4bec7355809396-V.jpgKabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo (Rep. Salo's office)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs has received a commitment from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) for the crafting of new guidelines to ensure the protection and welfare of seasonal Filipino workers abroad. 

This developed during a hearing of the Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo-chaired committee on Wednesday. Feb. 28. 

The panel tackled House Resolution (HR) No. 1343 filed by OFW Party-list Rep. Marissa Magsino in a bid to address pressing concerns about the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to South Korea's Seasonal Worker Program (SWP) by local government units (LGUs). 

During the hearing, alarming findings surfaced, revealing a grim landscape of alleged illicit practices and human rights violations within the SWP. Instances of alleged illegal recruitment, labor exploitation, medical neglect, physical abuse, and tragically, six deaths, underscored the urgent need for intervention. 

"The SWP was intended to be an employment opportunity for Filipinos, yet it has devolved into a dilemma of hardships endangering their well-being and that of their families," said Salo 

Salo bared that during his visit to South Korea in May 2023, he received reports on cases of abuse and maltreatment suffered by Filipino seasonal workers at the hands of brokers and employers. This prompted him to report the matter to the late DMW Secretary Toots Ople. 

In response to these distressing revelations, DMW OIC Secretary Cacdac vowed to work on the new guidelines. 

"Standardizing protection mechanisms in the SWP and other similar programs is paramount in safeguarding the rights of seasonal Filipino workers abroad," the Kabayan solon said. 

He further advocated for the incorporation of best practices from exemplary LGUs involved in the SWP into the new guidelines. Additionally, Salo called for the establishment of inter-agency guidelines involving the DMW, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Bureau of Immigration (BI) to strengthen the safeguarding OFW's rights. 

Salo expressed his gratitude to  Cacdac for his prompt response and unwavering commitment in protecting Filipino seasonal workers under the SWP. 

Cacdac commited to lift the moratorium on the SWP upon the implementation of the guidelines.

 

Related Tags

ron Salo DMW
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.