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Senators wrapped up their interpellation on the bill creating a department to handle concerns of 10 million overseas Filipinos, bringing the measure closer to approval in the Senate. Senator Joel Villanueva, chairman of the Senate labor committee, said the termination of the period of interpellation and debates “means we’re entering the last quarter of the […]
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 […]
Senator Grace Poe pushed for the expansion of the coverage of vaccine cards to allow more mobility for fully inoculated individuals and make it easier for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to travel for employment. “Now that we are once again about to enter a two-week hard lockdown, we need to have a recovery plan for […]
Holding banks accountable for the actions of their cash agents will provide better protection for consumers, especially those who rely on the “padala” of their relatives to help them get by during these trying times. Senator Grace Poe said the central bank’s push for financial inclusion will benefit from the necessary safeguards and encourage more […]
Senator Grace Poe said financial institutions such as banks and money transfer companies as well as regulators should do more to protect the remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The latest Consumer Expectations Survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that 96 percent of households that receive remittances spend it on food and […]
Senator Joel Villanueva sought clarification from officials involved in pandemic response on what he said was a “confusing” policy that would require those fully-vaccinated Filipinos to produce two sets of proof — a vaccine card and certification issued by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) or the Local Health Officer. “Isn’t this additional […]
Following his recommendation for the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to reconsider the current protocols for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and returning overseas Filipinos, Senator Dick Gordon officially recommended to IATF a set of rules for fully vaccinated returning OFWs, Philippine residents, foreign tourists and foreign businessmen. In a letter addressed to Secretary Carlito G. […]
Senator Koko Pimentel III said he supports the “swab-upon-arrival” policy for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs). This is in response to the various appeals received by Pimentel’s office from OFWs asking for more reasonable quarantine protocols. The existing protocols require OFWs and ROFs to undergo a minimum of 10 days quarantine […]
Senator Sonny Angara aired his support to the policy of the provincial government of Cebu, led by its Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, regarding the Swab-Upon-Arrival for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) in Cebu. Angara said the policy is practical and makes perfect sense considering that OFWs and ROFs that land in Cebu […]
Amid reports that many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remain unemployed, Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte has stressed the urgency for Congress to pass the proposed Balik Probinsya, Balik Pagasa (BP2) law to create jobs outside Metro Manila and help convince displaced OFWs to stay and work in their home provinces or cities. Villafuerte, author of House Bill […]