Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 8) — Now may not be the time to put up a new agency that would reorganize existing offices into the Department of Overseas Filipino Workers, senators said Monday.
Senator Franklin Drilon questioned if the new agency, planned to be called DOFil, will be more responsive to reports of abuse of Filipino service workers in the hands of their foreign employers.
“Is this the time to put up a separate department considering the limited resources that we have today as a result of the pandemic? Our economy is in shambles,” Drilon said.
“It would appear that everything is being done within the present structure of government.”
Abuses
Senator Nancy Binay also doubted if the DOFil would help bring down cases of violence towards Filipino workers.
There were 4,302 Filipino workers in the Middle East who reported maltreatment last year, followed by 593 among OFWs based in Asia and 86 in Europe and the Americas, according to the Department of Labor and Employment.
“Sa palagay ko kahit magkaroon pa tayo ng DOFil, for as long as we deploy especially our women as domestic helpers abroad, patuloy tayong magkakaroon ng problema [Even if we put up DOFil, for as long as we deploy especially our women as domestic helpers abroad, we will continue to encounter problems],” Binay said, calling for an “exit plan” that would eventually ban the deployment of domestic helpers.
An official from the Department of Foreign Affairs said they also prefer that only Filipino skilled workers be allowed to work abroad, as household service workers are often the victims of violence.
“The only time that the state can intervene is if the abuse already happened because we cannot enter the homes of the employers,” DFA Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said.
“While we want to really stop the deployment, we have to first upskill our people before we decide to stop deploying household service workers because many of our people will not be qualified for other jobs than that.”
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III assured that the skills training provided to OFWs is ongoing, with a focus on workers displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year.
Timing and cost
Center for Migrant Advocacy executive director Ellene Sana added that the timing of the transition to the new department is another concern.
“How much will the restructuring cost at a time when our resources as a country are almost depleted because of our responses to COVID-19. Is this the time to add to the cost?,” Sana told the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development.
While most OFW groups support the greater attention given to the sector, there are also issues regarding who they run to during times of need.
Senators also pointed out that it’s unclear how DOFil will operate alongside the existing DFA, the Labor Department, and its attached agencies Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Both DOLE and the DFA still supported the creation of the new agency, saying it will provide “focus” in addressing the many concerns of OFWs.
President Rodrigo Duterte has been calling on Congress for the new agency. In March 2020, the House of Representatives approved a bill creating DOFil on third and final reading.
Committee chairman Senator Joel Villanueva said another hearing will be scheduled about the topic to thresh out issues.
There are more than 10 million OFWs globally who sent $29.9 billion or over ₱1.45 trillion to the Philippines in 2020, according to central bank data, supporting the needs and luxuries of their families here.
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