NextGen Day

According to a high-ranking government official, the law establishing the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) would take effect on Thursday.

“Today, the DMW Act goes into force, but the subsumed agencies will be on hold for the rest of the year,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola stated at the Blas F. Ople Forum on Thursday.

On March 5, Arriola stated, a department order approving the use of the actual fund should be ready.

On the other hand, the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) shall be released by April 18, followed by the staffing pattern on June 3.

“According to the statute, (DMW) can only be formed if it has a budget for 2023, an IRR, and a personnel pattern. Technically, it would be entirely dependent on the next president’s political will, as well as how the future administration views migration and our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) “According to Arriola.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act (RA) 11641, also known as “An Act Creating the Department of Migrant Workers,” on December 31, 2021, to improve cooperation among OFW-related agencies.

The new department would operate as a one-stop-shop for both documented and undocumented OFWs, providing services from pre-employment to employment and reintegration.

To avoid any service disruptions, the seven existing offices concerned in OFW affairs would be brought under DMW for a one-year transition period.

The Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB), the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), the National Maritime Polytechnic, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the Office of the Social Welfare Attache (OSWA), and all Philippine Overseas Labor Offices are among the agencies involved (POLO).

The POLO, which will soon be known as the “migrant workers” office, is currently located in 34 of the 94 Philippine diplomatic missions across the world.

A technical working group had been meeting at the DFA, according to Arriola, to prepare for the formation of a DMW transition committee.

“All of our employees will be on leave and willing to help the new department until they find their feet. They won’t have their funding until January 2023, therefore, for the time being, all migration agencies are continuing their normal activities as we assist with the changeover “she stated

Only the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs and the jobs created under RA 8042 would be transferred to the DMW, according to Arriola, while “the rest of the assistance-to-national teams and the rest of the foreign service officers will remain in DFA.”

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. stated that the DFA will continue to support the third pillar of Philippine foreign policy, which is to protect and promote the rights and welfare of overseas Filipinos.

“In both diplomatic and practical aspects, the DFA will continue to support that pillar. The new department will be unable to perform this task; diplomacy is the DFA’s sole responsibility, and assisting and defending overseas Filipinos remains our mission, duty, and honor “In a recorded message, he added.

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