Laban to push full implementation of Migrant Workers Act

Former Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ricardo "Dong" Puno Jr. has assured seafarers and other overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that the opposition Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino will push for the full implementation of the Migrant Workers Act to put more flesh to the government’s thrust of protecting the welfare and interests of the country’s modern-day heroes.

Puno, a Laban senatorial candidate, said the full implementation of the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995 will go a long way in upholding the legal rights of OFWs and providing them with financial assistance and other forms of benefits due them.

Addressing this year’s graduates of the Negros Maritime College Foundation Inc. here, Puno said that as a party committed to uplift the lives of the Filipino Masa, Laban will work for the full implementation of this law to ensure that OFWs receive the right wages, are given full benefits, provided with full legal assistance abroad, and work in the best conditions possible.

Earlier, in his commencement address before graduates of the Agro Industrial College of the Philippines in Davao City. Puno also called on the government to establish strong partnerships with private institutions to maintain the country’s status as the manning capital of the world and guarantee decent, better-paying jobs for Filipino seamen, which constituted over one-fifth of the close to 670,000 OFWs in the first nine months of 2000.

"Given the crucial role played by seafarers and other OFWs in stimulating economic growth and helping ease the unemployment problem, the government should preserve our global competitiveness in this sector by fully implementing laws that protect and advance the interests of our migrant workers," said Puno, whose eight-point platform Puno ng Pag-asa para sa Masa puts a premium on the preservation and creation of jobs here and abroad.