Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Proposed creation of OFW department gets Senate’s final nod
The Senate on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a bill proposing the creation of a separate department for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Voting 20-0, senators approved Senate Bill No. Senate Bill No. 2234 or the proposed Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act.
During the period of amendments on the floor, the name of the department was changed into the Department of Migrant Workers.
This amendment was proposed by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon in order to limit the new department’s jurisdiction to overseas employment and labor migration with the Department of Foreign Affairs continuing in its authority over other Filipinos abroad.
Earlier, Senator Joel Villanueva, sponsor of the bill as chairman of the Senate labor committee, said the proposed department would serve as “one home” for migrant workers and Filipinos abroad since agencies mandated to serve them are scattered in different departments.
The passage of the bill was certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte last May.
The creation of a department dedicated to OFWs was among Duterte’s campaign promises during the 2016 presidential race.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1527661/proposed-ofw-department-gets-senates-final-nod