OFW leaders dapat ang isinama sa UN

AYON sa Section 27 ng R.A. 8042, otherwise known as the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, the “highest priority concerns of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Foreign Service Posts,” shall be the “protection of the Filipino migrant workers and the promotion of their welfare, in particular, and the protection of the dignity and fundamental rights and freedoms of the Filipino citizens abroad, in general.”

Ayon naman sa Foreign Service Act of 1983, tatlo ang priority areas ng ating foreign policy, at ito ay ang mga sumusunod: 1. Protection of Filipinos abroad; 2. Furtherance of national security; at 3. Economic diplomacy. Dahil sa R.A. 8043, ang pinaka-importante sa tatlo at dapat bigyan ng pinakamataas na prioridad ay ang OFWs.

Pero sa totoong buhay, tila yata hindi ito pinapatupad ni Secretary Bert Romulo. Tingnan na lang ang mga hatak-hatak nya sa UN sa New York. Pawang business tycoons lang. Samakatuwid, economic diplomacy sa halip na protection of Filipinos overseas ang sinabi ni Romulo kay P-Noy na bigyan nang pinakamataas na importansiya. Mas lalo sanang gaganda ang imahe ni P-Noy at mas makakatulong sana sa mga OFW kung ang mga lider nila ang isinama niya sa UN.

Mas maganda sana at mas bibilib kay P-Noy ang sambayanang Pilipino at ang world leaders kung ang buod ng talumpati niya sa UN ay ganito: “The cornerstones of Philippine foreign policy are threefold, namely: protection of Filipino migrant workers; economic diplomacy; and furtherance of national security. But the most important of the three is the protection of our 10 million countrymen who are now working overseas in pursuit of daily bread for their families back home. They are fighting the war against poverty in their home front in various venuesoverseas. They suffer the pain of being exiled from their loved ones for years. As they toil and earn a living in your countries, you become their presidents too, their kings or queens, their prime ministers or labor secretaries. They become your brothers and sisters too as they are mine. I entrust their welfare and protection to you and i beg that you treat them kindly and humanely. The essence of international relations is human relations. Our foreign policy rests principally on the welfare of human beings, not on commerce, not on oil, not on jet fighters, cars and other inanimate things.

Our people like yours are our most important resource.”