For Overseas Filipinos (OFs), President Rodrigo Duterte’s promises could serve as new rays of hope—especially if it entails the possibility of going back to the Philippines without the fear of being penniless after years of sacrifices.
Duterte asked some 1,000 OFs in Hong Kong to give him three to four years to fix issues in the Philippines so they would no longer face the challenges implicated in working away from their families.
Duterte’s advocacies could also ease the financial duties of OFs as he announced that the establishment of the proposed OFW Bank has now inched closer to reality.
The President said the government seeks legislative backing to draft a new law that would convert the state-owned Philippine Postal Bank into a financial institution for OFWs.
These promises could also shorten the waiting period before overseas workers could leave for abroad.
He said he instructed Labor Secretary Silvestro Bello III to assess demands to scrap the overseas employment certificate or exit pass, which is a prerequisite to ensure that an overseas Filipino is properly documented.
He also plans to setup a group that will work to scrutinize illegal recruitment agencies to end maltreatment cases that OFs often experience.
The former Davao mayor recently held a two-day working visit to Hong Kong ahead of his trip to Beijing for the last leg of his three-country economic mission.
Credit: South China Morning Post
