A FIRST-ever “one-stop shop” that will cater to the needs of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families will soon be opened within the compound of the Quezon City (QC) Hall.

The establishment of the shop called “Migrant Resource Center” (MRC) was an offshoot of an agreement signed between the QC government and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Mayor Joy Belmonte said the agreement aims to boost the city’s migration and development governance, program implementation, and service delivery.

“We are elated about this partnership as this means, finally, the implementation of our existing ordinance that pushes for the creation of an MRC. From then until now, our goal is to honor our OFWs by taking action and leading them to a future where they will be met with a positive, profitable, and successful cross-border journey,” said Belmonte.

The mayor was referring to Ordinance SP 2500, s 2016 or “An Ordinance creating the Quezon City Migrants Resource Center”, which was approved during the 19th City Council where she was then the vice mayor and presiding officer.

Under the said ordinance, the MRC will cater to all types of migrants and permanent, temporary, and undocumented workers.

Likewise, various migration programs and services from Quezon City and other partner groups will be brought under one roof. It will provide assessment and referral services, local employment facilitation, psycho-social first aid, and the provision of relevant information on migration through the OFW Help Desk.

Other services in the center include case handling and legal aid services as well as reintegration services such as livelihood skills training, re-skilling, and re-tooling for those returning to the city and seminars and training for OFWs and their family circles.

Also, in keeping with the city’s strong advocacy for women’s empowerment and gender equality, the center will be tasked with developing gender-sensitive activities for migratory women. The Public Employment Services Office (PESO) is the designated secretariat.

PESO Manager Rogelio Reyes said the move is a testament that the city is stepping up as a national government partner in protecting the rights and welfare of OFWs.

“This time, we are implementing at the local level some of the key functions of the national government, and we are filling critical gap areas in policy and program implementation and service provision,” Reyes said.

Funded by the European Union (EU), this support is part of the Safe and Fair Programme – the program for the ASEAN of the Spotlight Initiative, a 500-million-euro EU-UN partnership to end violence against women and girls.

The ILO-UN Women-IOM BRIDGE Programme, which aims to help the government achieve its commitments under the “Global Compact for Migration”, will also contribute to the initiative.

For his part, Khalid Hassan, director of the ILO Country Office in the Philippines, said that establishing the center is a landmark step for OFWs, as QC is recognized as one of the top places of origin for OFWs.

“We affirm the technical partnership with Quezon City on MRC on the following components: improving gender-responsive service delivery and coordination mechanisms; enhancing local data collection and management; capacity-building for migration stakeholders including service providers, OFWs, families, communities, OFW groups, and networks; strengthening migrant groups and networks; and increasing public awareness on labor migration and MRC,” said Hassan.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), there are over 1.77 million OFWs abroad as of 2020, almost 60% of whom are women.

More than 75% of OFWs abroad work in lower-paid, more precarious jobs like domestic work, clerical, sales, services, or factory/manufacturing jobs. Women predominate in these more dangerous jobs. The National Capital Region (NCR) is among the top 5 regions of origin of OFWs.