PARTIDO Federal ng Pilipinas standard-bearer Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. today (December 31) hailed as great success in legislation the passage of a bill creating a department that focuses on all concerns of our Overseas Filipino Workers

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed yesterday Republic Act 11641, also known as An Act Creating the Department of Migrant Workers.

Marcos congratulated both Houses of Congress for helping President Duterte fulfill his promise to take care of the Filipinos abroad and their families back home.

He said “after four decades of overseas employment, our modern-day heroes will now have their own home in the bureaucracy.”

He added that the problems hounding OFWs have been there for many years and that the newly signed law brings with it a renewed hope that these issues will now be addressed appropriately.

Marcos also urged the government to ensure that a fully functioning DMW would be ready early next year for the expected increase in deployment of migrant workers abroad amid the tapering threat of Covid19.

Marcos added that the government agency created under the new law is PRRD’s ‘love letter’ to OFWs and their families.

“This new department serves as President Duterte’s institutional love letter to OFWs around the world and their families here at home,” Marcos Jr. said.

The Department of Migrant Workers Act calls for creating a new government body that will protect the rights of OFWs worldwide. It is among President Duterte’s priority bills that he certified urgent in March of this year.

The new law will turn the existing Philippine Overseas Employment Administration into the Department of Migrant Workers. Its task will now be to oversee all policies aimed at protecting the welfare of OFWs.

The new department is also mandated to regulate the recruitment, employment and deployment of OFWs, lead investigations, and file cases related to illegal recruitment and human trafficking of OFWs.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration would be an attached agency of the new department.

Marcos also noted that the country should continue improving local jobs creation since we cannot prevent foreign employers from hiring Pinoys whose skills are at par with the best of the world.

“Though our economic policy must remain focused on local job generation, we cannot prevent foreign employers from seeking out our workers because they are truly the best in the world,” Marcos added.

He cited the contribution of OFWs to the Philippine economy through their remittances. The money they sent to their families has allowed the country to prosper even during global crises.

“Our OFWs have contributed significantly and consistently in keeping our economy afloat, even through global crises, when the country continued to thrive even in supposed desperate times,” Marcos said.

According to the 2019 Survey on Overseas Filipinos released by the Philippine Statistics Authority there are an estimated 2.2 million Filipinos abroad.