Albay Representative Joey Salceda expressed confidence on Wednesday that the proposed measure on the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos (DMWOF) will be enacted early next year.
Salceda, head of the technical working group at the House of Representatives on the matter, lauded the approval of Senate Bill No. 2234 on third and final reading, saying that he is confident that lawmakers from both chambers of Congress would agree on a final version of the measure that is among the priorities of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Congress is about to go on break this week, and we probably need to sit down in the House to review the provisions of this bill. Hence, adoption is not very likely,” Salceda said in a statement.
“But we will see to it that when we resume session early next year, we will have studied the provisions so we can quickly convene the bicameral committee. Expect final enactment of this measure before the campaign period begins in February,” he pointed out.
He commended a provision in the bill regarding the creation of the Migrant Workers Offices in the country’s embassies because at present, OFW concerns are being addressed in an ad hoc manner by the country’s embassies.
“With the institutionalization of an office and a system for helping our OFWs in the countries where they work, OFWs can rest better assured that they are not alone in these countries,” Salceda said.
Moreover, he said he would propose a provision that will allow the Philippines to benefit from the skills gained by OFWs abroad.
“Reintegration should include a skills transfer, and in the tech-voc centered education system that I envision for the country, highly-skilled OFWs will make excellent teachers,” Salceda said.
“Part of reintegration must be to make returning OFWs feel that they are not dependents of the state, but are highly important contributors to national development, even when they come home,” he added.
Under the bill, the said Department will absorb all functions and mandates of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and will be the primary agency under the Executive Branch of the government tasked to protect the rights and promote the welfare of OFWs and other overseas Filipinos.
The measure also said the department is mandated to formulate, plan, coordinate, promote, administer, and implement policies, and undertake systems for regulating, managing, and monitoring the overseas employment of Filipino workers and reintegration of OFWs and other OFs, while taking into consideration the national development programs formulated by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). —LBG, GMA News
Salceda sees enactment of OFW department bill early next year
Source: Pinoy Hub News
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