President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, Oct. 18, vowed to protect the families of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), and build a safe country for their homecoming.
Duterte, who delivered a speech in the seventh anniversary of the Buhay OFW and Anti-Trafficking OFW Movement Launch in Sofitel, Manila, thanked the OFWs for accounting for majority of his votes last election.
“Wala naman silang (OFW) ibang hinihingi. They are not asking for anything else from the government. As a matter of fact, they are the ones remitting money to the government,” he said.
Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that about 2.2 million Filipinos currently live and work abroad, and their remittances remain to be one of the main drivers of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
In his speech, Duterte acknowledged that most Filipinos choose to migrate to search for better employment opportunities. “The reason why you go out [is] because there’s not enough to earn here,” he said.
On the government’s part, he added, “the most direct way of helping you (OFWs) is to improve the Philippines.”
The President reiterated the importance of the war on drugs in his campaign promise to create a safer Philippines.
“You have to improve the economy, to do justice to the sweat of people outside–rich or poor–that their families here are protected,” he said.
“Protect their children, their families because their mothers and fathers, pamangkin nandito and they are hoping that they would be [given a] magandang buhay,” he added.
Photo credit: pcu.edu.ph
