President Rodrigo Duterte has asserted his support for the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos (DMWOF).
This has come when OFWs are seeking support from the government and are also being repatriated due to the loss of job opportunities abroad. The bill authored by Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go would create DMWOF.
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Sen. Bong Go said that their aim was to “give our migrant workers and all other Filipinos abroad the best government service that we could give them.”
He said that It is was “very unfair” that despite being a 10 percent of the population the OFWs “do not have a department of their own.”
The Senate Bill 2234 will establish a department to protect the OFWs and promote their interests and resolve issues concerning them. It will also have powers to provide services including insurance, social work assistance, and legal assistance to the Filipinos.
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Sen. Bong Go said that it was time OFWs had their own department. He said that they were “our modern heroes but they continue to have no department of their own.” He appealed to fellow legislators to continue to recognize the hard work of OFWs and urged them to support migrant workers especially during the pandemic.
He also expressed hope that the President will continue to safeguard the welfare of Filipinos working abroad even after his term. (AW)
