Senator Joel Villanueva called for an inventory of skills of thousands of overseas Filipinos being repatriated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, urging the government to match the available talent with the existing demand of the labor market.
Touted as the largest repatriation of Filipinos since the Gulf war in the 1990s, Villanueva said it was imperative for the government to activate interventions within its power to ensure that returning overseas workers can reintegrate smoothly in the labor market.
“Totoo pong malawakang repatriation po ang nangyayari ngayon bunsod ng pandemya. Ang mas mahalagang usapin ngayon ay kung anong interventions ang gagawin ng ating gobyerno,” said Villanueva in an interview with ABS-CBN Teledradyo.
“The last thing we want to happen is that our OFWs become part of our unemployment statistics. Mungkahi natin sa gobyerno, partikular sa DOLE at OWWA, ay mag-account ng lahat ng pinapauwing OFW at magbuo ng imbentaryo ng skills at kasanayan. I-match po natin yung available talent sa available jobs. Tungkulin po ng gobyerno na mag-facilitate sa pagitan ng mga workers at employers,” continued the veteran legislator, who chairs the Senate labor committee.
“Giving them P20,000 each simply would not cut it anymore.”
“Giving them P20,000 each simply would not cut it anymore,” added the seasoned lawmaker, referring to cash aid programs that the government has been implementing for jobless OFWs and workers in the country.
The senator said the mass repatriation of OFWs also highlighted the urgency of a provision in the proposed Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos (DMWOF), which is being deliberated in the Senate plenary.
One of the highlights of the proposed DMWOF is a full-cycle and comprehensive reintegration program for OFWs who have returned and are staying for good in the Philippines.
“Isa po sa weak link o Achilles’ heel ng ating migration policy ay ang reintegration.”
“Sa mga naging pagdinig natin sa panukalang pagtatatag ng DMWOF, isa po sa weak link o Achilles’ heel ng ating migration policy ay ang reintegration. Kaya po isinusulong at inaaksyonan natin ito sa DMWOF, dahil nais nating maayos ang pagbabalik ng manggagawa sa ating domestic labor market,” he explained.
In previous interpellations on the bill, Villanueva maintained that the proposed new department’s mission was not to perpetuate the deployment of Filipinos as workers in other countries.
