Senatorial aspirant Teddy Baguilat claimed on Wednesday, April 6, that Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) will be guaranteed easy access to provincial establishments for migrant workers, should Vice President Leni Robredo be elected president.
Baguilat, who is running under the tandem of Robredo and Pangilinan, said that OFWs will no longer need to travel to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) office in Metro Manila to process their documents. Instead, they could just visit their respective provincial offices.
“Kapag naging pangulo si VP Leni, hindi mo na kailangang pumunta ng POEA sa NCR o regional office para asikasuhin ang mga dokumento mo. Hindi na luluwas ang pamilya mo sa Maynila para humingi ng tulong kapag may nangyari sa iyo sa ibang bansa,” Baguilat stated.
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“Lahat ng ito ay magagawa mo na o ng iyong pamilya nang hindi na lumalabas sa sarili mong lalawigan. Wala nang mahabang biyahe, wala nang mahal na pamasahe, at wala nang paghahanap ng matutuluyan,” he added.
According to the senatorial hopeful, Robredo’s commitment of establishing a provincial office for migrant workers will bring the OFWs closer to the newly created Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
Baguilat furthered that Robredo came up with the idea since “it is in her nature to be grounded when talking about issues with the people.”
“Karanasan na ni VP Leni ang umiiral sa mahabang panahon na tumutulong siya sa mga nasa laylayan. Handa siyang makinig at tunay na alamin ang mga problema ng mga mamamayan, lalo na yung mga sektor tulad ng ating OFWs,” Baguilat said.
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“Kasama sa panukala niya ang pangangailangan hindi lamang ng OFWs kundi ang mga pamilya rin nila,” he added.
Baguilat himself believes that OFWs should be treated as heroes as many Filipinos deem them to be.
“Kung tunay ngang mga bayani ang ating mga OFWs, dapat bayani rin ang turing natin sa kanila,” he uttered.
It was in December 2021 when President Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11641 or the Department of Migrant Workers Act, creating a separate department dedicated solely to the concerns of OFWs.
