Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte has expressed the hope that the new department dedicated to serving migrant Filipinos will streamline and speed up services for the country’s overseas workers, especially those in distress.
Villafuerte said that under the newly signed law creating the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) need not go from one government office to another to provide for their needs.
President Duterte signed before the end of 2021 the law creating the DMW, which will absorb the functions of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and will be tasked to protect the rights of migrant workers.
The new department will also be able to better track Filipinos abroad, especially those in distress, as the law provides for an information system that will serve as a database for all OFWs, said Villafuerte, who was one of the principal authors in the House of Representatives of the consolidated bill that led to the creation of this new government department.
“Government must make a much better effort in providing assistance and protection to OFWs, from recruitment to overseas employment, more so now with an upward trend in remittances as economies hiring migrant workers have started to recover from COVID-19 and are rehiring again,” he said.
Villafuerte said OFW remittances have helped keep the economy afloat during the height of the pandemic and will continue to boost ongoing efforts to recover from this global crisis.
President Duterte signed before the end of 2021 the law creating the DMW, which will absorb the functions of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and will be tasked to protect the rights of migrant workers.
The DMW will also regulate overseas employment and the reintegration of Filipino workers.
As of August 2021, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said personal remittances from overseas Filipinos rose by 4.8 percent to $2.889 billion from $2.756 billion in the same month last year.
“We owe it to our over 10 million modern-day Filipino heroes, who have helped keep our economy afloat amid all external and domestic challenges, to have a line Department in charge of protecting and advancing their interests, in keeping with the commitment to them of President Duterte,” Villafuerte said.
