‘OFWs department to lessen illegal recruitment, abuse’

MANILA, Philippines — The creation of a department that will look after the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families would help lessen illegal recruitment and abuse while hastening the delivery of services, senators said yesterday.

Senators Cynthia Villar and Christopher Go filed separate bills to ensure the welfare of Filipino migrant workers, whom they credit for propping up the economy for decades through their remittances.

Their bills seek to consolidate and streamline the functions of various concerned agencies, including the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Commission on Filipino Overseas, International Labor Affairs Bureau of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the National Reintegration Center for OFWs.

President Duterte on Saturday asked Congress to pass the bill creating a Department of OFWs by December to put Philippine-based recruitment agencies under strict supervision of the government.

“It is appropriate to create a government agency in the executive department, which shall have the exclusive function of protecting and enforcing the welfare and rights of Filipinos overseas. We need an empowered agency that will adequately support and give assistance to them,” Villar said.

Villar’s Senate Bill 141 seeks to create the Department of Migration and Development that is meant to address the problem of redundant and difficult procedures and unnecessary fees that government agencies impose on OFWs.

The proposed department is envisioned to develop, implement and improve coordination with other countries with the presence of Filipinos, monitor foreign developments to ensure the most reasonable working conditions for OFWs, and create a proactive approach in providing assistance to them, especially in times of war and civil unrest, whether potential or apparent.

It will also promote, develop and monitor the continuing education, training and qualification, availability and deployment of OFWs and coordinate with concerned agencies in the training of overseas Filipinos to improve their competitiveness globally.

Meanwhile, Go’s SB 202 seeks to create the Department of Overseas Filipinos that will serve as a one-stop shop in providing legal assistance to OFWs in distress; arrange a full migration cycle approach in promoting migrant’s rights from pre-employment as well as onsite and reintegration services.

The proposed department is also mandated to launch a shared database system that contains important information of all OFWs to aid in tracking their status and fast-track the delivery of assistance, especially to distressed workers.

Go said Duterte would like to put an end to manpower agencies that demand excessive fees from Filipinos seeking jobs abroad and to protect Filipino migrant workers from abusive illegal recruiters. This will be one of the primary functions of the department of OFWs once it is established, according to the neophyte senator.

He said the bill seeks to address various issues, such as the need to improve coordination among concerned offices, hence, the proposal to put them together under one roof to avoid fingerpointing among agencies concerned with OFW affairs.

Go also assured OFWs they will not pay anything in excess to avail themselves of the services of the proposed department once in place. – With Mayen Jaymalin, Rudy Santos