Senators have passed a bill seeking to create a department solely for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on second reading.
The move comes six months since the bill was sponsored in the Senate.
The bill creating an OFW department has been a priority legislation of the Duterte administration.
Senate Minority Frank Drilon pushes for an amendment changing the name of the bill from Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos (DMWOF) to Department of Migrant Workers.
Drilon said that this would limit the function of the new department to overseas employment and labor migration only.
“To get the clean copies, we do a third reading when we have more members, I’m sure many members would like to vote on this particular, important measure,” Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri said.
President Rodrigo Duterte certified the bill creating the OFW department as urgent last May.
He also made the same call to the lawmakers to pass the bill during his final state of the nation address.
