Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has responded to those who are complaining about the watermark image of the president on the identification cards for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)
In particular, the labor secretary hit the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines for claiming that the photo of President Rodrigo Duterte may lead questions to “epal” or shameless self-promotion.
He expressed belief that those who complain or criticize the OFW IDs merely want to discredit the project.
It can be recalled that Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos made a statement that Duterte’s watermark photo on iDOLE might be construed as a kind of politicking tactic.
The DOLE chief said based on hundreds of text messages he received, the majority of them are supporting the issuance of the ID and on how it was printed.
“Based on the 500 messages I received from OFWs, their reactions are favorable,” he said.
Bello added, “There was also one text message that says, he is happy that his picture is placed next to Tatay Digong.”
He urged the public and members of the media to report or send to him any message from only “certified OFWs” complaining about the new OFW ID.
“We want to listen to the sentiments of ‘true’ OFWs,” Bello added.
In one of the reports of The Filipino Times on the issuance of the OFW ID, hundreds of OFWs have given their two cents on the issue.
Some are in favor of the released ID, saying that the administration has the prerogative to place the photo of the president on the IDs; while others raised a concern that it would be better if a national symbol, like the Philippine national flag or a photo of OFWs, since the face of the president indicates revamp of the IDs when a new administration comes in.
Read the related report below:
