President Rodrigo Duterte has sought to set up overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) centres across major cities in the Philippines for their dedicated assistance.
This, he said, would ease the burden of OFWs in processing the documents they need.
“Sana malagay ito sa major cities para hindi na sila mag-biyahe,” Duterte said.
His remarks came during the groundbreaking ceremony of the OFW Center in Las Piñas City.
The OFW Center, spearheaded by non-for-profit Global Filipino Movement (GFM) Foundation Inc., would serve as a one-stop-shop for government services, ministry counseling, and legal assistance for OFWs.
“The productive collaboration of the government and its partners is key to achieving concrete results for our fellow countrymen, especially our hardworking kababayans abroad,” Duterte said during the groundbreaking rites.
About 11 percent of the country’s population, or around 10 million Filipinos work and stay in over 100 countries throughout the world. Their remittances contribute around 9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Last year, total OFW remittances reached almost $35 billion.
