MANILA -- The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is looking at adding more labor attaches to protect the rights of Filipino migrant workers.
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople made the announcement during a meeting with the Filipino community in Brussels, Belgium on Monday.
“Next year may budget na tayo. Makakatulong na kami nang husto sa inyo. Magdadagdag kami ng mga office ng labor attaches natin. So, pag-aaralan natin sa Europe, kung saan kami pwedeng magdagdag,” Ople said, to the delight of members of the Filipino community in Brussels.
According to Ople, the government has also laid out initiatives to help overseas Filipinos looking to go back to the country for good.
“Pinagtitibay namin ngayon ‘yung mga agreements, sa kautusan ni President Marcos, gusto niya na iyong mga uuwi, na katulad niyo na matagal sa abroad, ‘yung mga gustong mag-invest, tuturuan natin. Ang partner natin ay Department of Trade and Industry at saka iyong Go Negosyo,” said Ople.
The DMW official said the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), meanwhile, will provide opportunities for returning OFWs who want to venture into agriculture and agribusiness enterprises.
“Yung gusto namang mag-farming, mag-agribusiness, ‘yung may mga lupang nakatiwangwang, tutulungan naman kayo ng Department of Agriculture,” said Ople.
“Yung mga walang lupa pero gustong magtanim din, bumalik sa pagsasaka, alam niyo, malaking bagay [ang] food security… Yung mga OFWs na babalik, doon sa mga lupa ng gobyernong nakatiwangwang, ay pwedeng ipagamit para kayo naman ay kumita,” Ople pointed out.
In addition, the Department of Information of Communications Technology (DICT) will also support the upskilling of Filipino workers to stay competitive in the workforce.
The DMW was established in December 2021 and will have its 2023 budget approved once President Marcos signs the General Appropriations Act of 2023 into law.
The signing of the GAA greenlights the full constitution of the new department, which would lead to the transformation of the present Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) into Migrant Workers’ Offices (MWOs).
Apart from Belgium, Filipinos from Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and Switzerland attended the Filipino community event. (PND)
