Lawmakers from the House Committee on overseas workers affairs consolidated two measures seeking to protect the welfare of the families left behind by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Among the proposals include a formal application of an OFW to designate a temporary guardian for his or her children. OFW Representative Marissa Magsino stressed the need for documentation so that children of OFWs will be protected.
“Unable to earn enough money at home, many seek employment abroad hoping to give their families a better future. However, it comes at a high price. Despite the financial gains of working abroad, overseas Filipino workers and their families become vulnerable to certain challenges when the OFW is away,” Magsino said.
Magsino mentioned two instances when the children of OFWs were killed, abused and raped by their supposed guardians.
“These serious tragedies are not just stories… They’re real-life experiences of our OFWs who paid the high price of their involuntary absence as parents, and for unwittingly leaving their children behind helplessly in the hands of predators and psychopaths, if I may say,” Magsino said.
Under the proposed bill, the official temporary guardian will be monitored by authorities including barangay officials and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
“These lead to wasting the potential benefits of working abroad and causing oftentimes irreparable harm to the families left behind,” she added.
