A lawmaker from the House of Representatives is lobbying for the creation of a special fund for the proposed Department of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW).
Rizal Representative Fidel Nograles has urged fellow lawmakers to prioritize the source of fund for the proposed department.
“One of the main issues raised against the establishment of the Department of OFWs is the cost it would entail in creating new offices. Pero bakit natin tinitingnan ang cost? Kung pera ang pag-uusapan, di ba dapat natin i-consider kung magkano ang pinapasok na pera ng mga OFW natin?” Nograles said in a statement.
Nograles is one of the 30 lawmakers who introduced a bill seeking to establish a sole department for migrant workers.
A technical working group is now consolidating the proposed bills to meet President Duterte’s yearend deadline.
The lawmaker cited that 2.3 million OFWs were able to remit US$33.8 billion or 9.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2018.
The Philippines is also the 4th biggest recipient of remittances across the globe, according to a World Bank study.
“For such a key sector of our economy, dapat no questions asked na tayo pagdating sa kung ano pa ang magagawa natin to ensure the protection of their rights and welfare,” Nograles stressed.
The task now for lawmakers is to look for the department’s funding. He said that
non-performing or unnecessary programs should be cut and be re-directed to the proposed department.
Nograles also disputed claims that the OFW department will only duplicate functions of existing agencies.
He said the Department of OFWs will be the mother agency of government agencies addressing OFW-related concerns. (TN)
