Our dear President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his wants of having an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Department so that our overseas workers will be taken care of and have their welfare cared for more. The OFW Department is one of the three (3) government branches or agencies that have been put in a ball park and it is slowly springing to life.
Just last night, the House of Representatives OKs the OFW department or the bill that would create and would make an OFW department possible.
Read: President Rodrigo Duterte Said He Wants an OFW Department
The House of Representatives OKs the OFW Department
In a plenary session, members of the House made a vote to have the bill pass on a second (2nd) reading with a minority opposing it. That being said, OFWs can no longer have worries about them being abused even while they're away from home.
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, the principal author of the bill, said that this measure would absolutely address problems that our OFWs have. The approval of the bill roots from the House Committees on Government Reorganization and Overseas Workers Affairs' act of OK-ing it back in November of last year.
What would the OFW Department do?
Cayetano said that the protection of OFWs is the thing that would be heightened by the department. He said that this security would include:
- Physical and sexual abuse resulting to permanent disabilities - even death;
- Rude and unpleasant treatment from embassy personnel and fellow countrymen;
- Illegal recruitment or termination of contract;
- Human trafficking;
- Inadequate and insufficient safety nets for displaced OFWs;
- Lack of representation by the government o interest;
- Welfare of OFWs and foreign employers that do not acknowledge and implement international labor standards.
Basically, the eyes on our OFWs will have more range, power, and will be more effective to the point that OFWs would need not to be afraid in working.
Read: Higher SSS Sick and Retirement Benefits and Savings for OFWs, Possible
Our OFWs
It doesn't seem like much and a majority of people might not even see why but our OFWs are considered as the heroes of our era. The sacrifice and the mentality they have is something out of the norm. They go their way abroad, away from their families just for them to put meat on the table - it's something not a lot of people are willing to do.
In addition to that, OFWs make up for the 10 percent of the entire Philippines' Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is a big contribution to the economic standing of where we are now.
Cayetano said that the creation of an OFW department would be the perfect response to the continuous shout of over 10 million OFWs all around the globe of protection and security.
It is a fitting response to the lingering clamor of about 10 million OFWs scattered around the world."
Read:
Read: Different House Loans for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) Updated This 2019
The House of Representatives OKs the OFW department, seeking sufficient assistance from the Philippine government in relation to how OFWs' welfare should be even if they're out of the country.
With the help of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the OFW department will be working hand-in-hand with these agencies to support and assist OFWs!
The initiative
Apart from the OFW department, two (2) other government departments are cooking up; the disaster resilience/response department, and the water regulatory commission. Both of which would curb an improvement on how the systems in our country are.
You can read more about that here: The House of Representatives Looks to Pass Proposed Laws Creating 3 New Government Departments
What do you feel in response to the fact that the House of Representatives OKs the OFW department? If you have a friend or even a family member who is an OFW, you would greatly appreciate this. In fact, you might even be one of the people who fight for this to become a reality.
With an OFW department in place, workers who are constantly abroad, directed to different employers would no longer have to fear working. Should the bill be signed into law, protection and security of the status, welfare, and conditions of OFWs would be atop.
Read: This is How Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWS) can get their OFW ID Cards
The House of Representatives OKs the OFW department; it is now on its second reading. Since it is one of the priorities of our dearest President, this will be thoroughly studied and examined and in no time, this will spring to reality.
Let's wait and hope for the best. For now, let's be happy and rejoice that the OFW department is slowly, but surely, becoming a reality.
Source: The Philippine Star
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