At A Glance
- The House Committee on Appropriations has deferred deliberations on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) following the unavoidable absence of acting Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac.
House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The House Committee on Appropriations has deferred deliberations on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) following the unavoidable absence of acting Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac.
During the budget hearing on Tuesday morning, Aug. 20, Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo——the presiding officer——informed the panel that she received a letter from Cacdac informing the panel of his absence.
“In this letter, he informs us that he is scheduled to appear before the Commission on Appointments (CA) at the same time, 9:00 am today,” said Quimbo.
“And he is respectfully requesting permission to be excused from attending today’s budget hearing,” added the senior vice chairperson.
Cagayan de Oro 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez quickly raised the importance of Cacdac’s presence in the deliberations. He noted that the House members should know firsthand the thrusts and programs of the DMW to better gauge its proposed budget.
“So therefore, I move to defer the hearing of today’s budget deliberations to Sept. 9 at 11 o’clock in the morning,” said Rodriguez.
After the motion was duly seconded and with no member making any objection, Quimbo approved the motion.
The deferral of the DMW’s budget deliberations is the first among government agencies in this year's budget process.
According to the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD), the DMW will have a budget of P8.50 billion next year. This is down by more than half of its 2024 budget of P20.49 billion.
Cacdac, who now awaits the CA, previously served as an undersecretary and officer-in-charge under the DMW before his appointment by President Marcos.
He has also previously headed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)——agencies attached to the DMW.