NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines – On Friday, a lawmaker urged the secretary of the newly created Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to immediately establish an online database system to track and deliver legal and welfare services to overseas Filipino workers in a timely manner (OFWs).

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said in a statement that the new department, headed by DMW Secretary Abdullah Derupong Mama-o, should provide legal assistance and other necessary assistance to distressed OFWs, particularly those affected by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the recent surge of Covid-19 in Hong Kong.

“The DMW’s online database will promote and facilitate information and resource sharing among related agencies, thereby improving service delivery to our OFWs,” Villafuerte explained.

Villafuerte cited a section of Republic Act (RA) 11641 that establishes the Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFWs na Nangangailangan (AKSYON) Fund to finance legal and other forms of assistance to OFWs in addition to the funds managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The Migrant Workers Office shall be responsible for maintaining an up-to-date online database system in order to facilitate and ensure the delivery of appropriate, timely, and effective welfare services to OFWs and their families; facilitate the repatriation of distressed OFWs and their families, including the shipment of remains and personal belongings; and provide assistance, legal or otherwise, in labor, criminal, immigration, and other cases filed by or against OFWs, whether detained or not.

Meanwhile, Rep. Sandro Gonzales of Marino commended the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for their efforts to protect and ensure the safety of overseas Filipinos, particularly in repatriating approximately 247 Filipino seafarers on board various ships in areas affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Our fervent goal is to safeguard the welfare of our overseas employees, particularly our seafarers, who are regarded as the best in the world. We gladly express our appreciation to these government agencies for their outstanding performance “Gonzales explained.

According to the Department of Labor’s International Labor Affairs Bureau (DOLE-ILAB), as of March 12, 178 land-based OFWs from Ukraine had been repatriated.

Additionally, the government has provided critical assistance to affected overseas Filipino workers in the form of transportation via chartered flights and chartered land transport, food, quarantine facilities, psychosocial counseling and stress debriefing, cash assistance of PHP10,000 per worker, livelihood assistance of PHP20,000 per worker, and educational assistance of PHP20,000 per worker.

Meanwhile, in response to the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Hong Kong, DFA Senior Special Assistant Jose Cabrera reported that 314 OFWs had been infected as of March 20.

The law establishing the DMW went into effect in February.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act (RA) 11641, also known as “An Act Establishing the Department of Migrant Workers,” on Dec. 31, 2021, to improve coordination among agencies tasked with the care of OFWs.

The new department would serve both documented and undocumented OFWs, acting as a one-stop-shop for everything from pre-employment to employment and reintegration.

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