(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Roa Duterte directed Congress to speed up legislation for the creation of the Department of Overseas Filipinos which would address concerns of OFWs including seafarers.
Duterte stressed that this was a campaign promise way back 2016 and he intended to fulfill this to help the country’s unsung heroes who have been abused and neglected for years.
He said that he would also create another agency that would focus on Filipino maritime workers, saying that there are various international laws that concern and affect the country’s seafarers.
Congress is expected to fast-track work on this legislation amid various reports of abuse and maltreatment of a household helper in the Philippine embassy in Brazil by no less than the Philippine ambassador assigned in that country, Marichu Mauro, whose acts had been exposed by a Brazilian news channel GloboNews.
President Duterte explained that the Department of Labor and Employment is mainly concerned with the needs of workers in the country, and not those working abroad.
“I’d like to hurry up Congress in this. One of my proposals during the campaign period was the creation of Overseas Filipino. Iba ‘yung Department of Labor. It takes care of the internal mga trabahante dito, ‘yung nasa labas. So I proposed in the coming months and I hope to come up with a Department of Overseas Workers,” he said in his latest address to the nation.
-Duterte to create agency for seafarers-
“I will also create another agency and that is the maritime, the seafarers, kasi sinabi ko sa kanila iba-iba ‘yung treatment ko doon because of the so many international laws involved dito,” Duterte said.
President Duterte also noted that there were OFWs who had been stranded during the COVID-19 pandemic, and directed the labor department, particularly Secretary Silvestre Bello III, in the meantime, to work towards repatriating them.
“Alam mo pagka ‘yung mga trabahante natin nasa labas stranded and everything… Mayroon pa nga sigurong isa. I’ve read that one Filipino has been stranded in — I think he is in Vietnam right now.
“I’d like to ask Secretary Bello, if he’s listening, to look into the matter. He has been there for two years. That is unconscionable. I cannot accept that kind of mistake of government. We should bring him home,” he said.
Duterte said “no Filipino should be left stranded like a person with no nationality.”
“Tingnan itong mabuti itong problema na ‘to at baka ma-solve kaagad. I hope the Department of Labor would take this suggestion seriously.
Duterte noted that DOLE’s focus is not really on overseas workers, so there is a need to create a department to better address OFW concerns.
“Dito gawing isang departamento. Pati itong sa maritime, sa mga seafarers, I might consider an additional agency under this proposal. Overseas kasi eh,” he said.
The new agencies will address the persistent woes encountered by OFWs and seafarers whenever they work overseas such as difficulty in securing needed documents and general welfare.
The new arrangement might not be perfect at first but things can be improved along the way, the President said.
“So iyan ang ano ko sa mga kababayan ko na naghihirap sa labas, that there will be a more thorough review sa policies for your protection and that somebody should look after you,” he said.
Last year, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go filed Senate Bill 202, or the Department of Overseas Filipinos Act of 2019 in support of President Duterte’s advocacy.
(with a PND release)
