Senators are now discussing legislation seeking to increase funding for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) facing legal actions abroad.
Senator Joel Villanueva has urged the Senate to approve Senate Bill No. 1233. Villanueva cited the need to institute amendments on the use of the Legal Assistance Fund (LAF).
“This will ultimately benefit more OFWs in distress,” Villanueva said. “Full protection of labor more significantly implies a continuing positive duty on the part of the State to ensure that the rights of its workers are at all times protected and their welfare promoted and improved at every chance possible,” he added.
The proposed measure also seeks to expedite basic assistance and legal aid to distressed OFWs.
“Its aim is to advance and improve not only the quality but also the promptness of the delivery of these services to our migrant workers and overseas Filipinos,” Villanueva said.
“It further clarifies that such assistance shall be given from the moment the case is initiated, or the proceeding is commenced, until its termination, promulgation, and execution,” Sen. Win Gatchalian said.
“This assistance extends further to all appeals taken on these cases, thereby guaranteeing full and complete support to distressed Filipinos overseas,” he added.
