Solon urges OFWs to form own party

A pro-administration congressman urged overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) yesterday to organize their own political party so they can effectively protect their interests and rights and work on legislation that would benefit them.

Rep. Willie Buyson Villarama (Aksyon Demokratiko, Bulacan) made the call in a meeting with leaders of the International Coalition of Overseas Filipinos for Voting Rights, an umbrella organization of various OFW groups all over the world that is lobbying for the passage of the Absentee Voting Bill.

The measure would give OFWs and other Filipino expatriates the right to vote in elections for president, vice president, senators, and party-list representatives.

The coalition decried the failure of Congress for the past 15 years to enact the bill despite a constitutional mandate enfranchising OFWs, whom officials have described as the modern Filipino heroes.

Overseas workers are the biggest source of foreign exchange for the country. They remit between $6 billion and $7 billion a year. During times of economic difficulties, it is their remittances that keep the economy afloat.

Despite such valuable contribution to the economy, Villarama decried that the nation’s leaders have often neglected these workers.

"Our overseas labor force is a dynamic showcase of Filipino enterprise and a powerful economic machine. Yet, they are ignored and taken for granted by the political establishment," he said.

He said national leaders seem afraid to give OFWs a voice shaping national policy because they are a huge group to reckon with.

He pointed out that if the workers organize their own political party, they could not only win party-list seats in the House of Representatives but could also effectively influence national policy.

"They can work for better protection from employer abuse and corrupt recruiters, improved working and living conditions and creation of business opportunities at home for their families," he stressed.

Villarama, who was President Arroyo’s chief of staff when she was vice president, volunteered his help "in building a political machinery that will improve the lives of OFWs and the future of their children."

"I have worked as an OFW in the United States and I know the sentiments of our expatriate workers," he said.