(File photo)
MANILA – In addition to the proposed establishment of the Department of Overseas Filipinos (DOFil), Senator Christopher “Bong” Go assured that the government will continue to push for more economic opportunities for Filipinos domestically so they will not need to leave the country in search of greener pastures.
“Mananatili pong prayoridad ng gobyerno ang mapalago ang ating ekonomiya at makapagbigay ng oportunidad para sa mga Pilipino dito sa bansa upang hindi na nila kakailanganin pang makipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa (The priority of the government is still to improve our economy and give opportunities to Filipinos for them not to leave the country),” Go said.
“Kaya po nakalagay sa ating batas (That’s why it is said in our laws) that the State shall continuously aim to make overseas employment as a last resort and not a necessity for every Filipino citizen,” he said in his previous statements.
Go noted that there are 10 million Filipinos abroad, which is almost 10 percent of the country’s population.
He said it is the responsibility of the Philippine government to protect the welfare of every Filipino anywhere in the world.
As of 2019, it is estimated that there are about 10.2 million overseas Filipinos (OFs) around the world, and they are credited for boosting domestic consumption and contributed about 9.3 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and 7.8 percent of the Gross National Income in the said year.
While it is ideal to keep Filipinos domestically productive, Go said the government cannot just turn a blind eye on the present concerns of OFs, which warrants the creation of a department catering to their issues.
Go also assured that DOFil will be in compliance with the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM), in which the Philippines is a signatory.
GCM is an intergovernmental agreement under the United Nations which covers "all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner".
Go said the proposed DOFil will also undergo a mandatory review of its accomplishments ten years into its establishment which will inform members of the Congress on whether there is a need to retain or abolish it by then.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, during the recent Senate public hearing on DOFil, confirmed this, saying, “The mandatory review really is the signal na alam po natin na (we already know), in the long-term, ang gusto po natin talaga ay makabalik at makapagtrabaho ang ating mga Filipinos overseas, maka-establish ng kanilang sariling negosyo at hanapbuhay dito po sa ating bansang Pilipinas (we really want Filipinos overseas to return and would be able to work, and establish their own business and jobs in the Philippines).”
Go also echoed Nograles’ remarks during the Senate hearing, stressing that the formation of the agency will not require huge funds as it will simply consolidate all government agencies and streamline functions related to overseas Filipinos into one department.
The proposed DOFil will have the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration as its attached agencies. It will also have regional offices and establish concern centers for OFs.
Go, being the author of the DOFil Act of 2020, or Senate Bill No. 1949, said the establishment of the department would also help ‘rightsize’ the bureaucracy by streamlining and rationalizing the organization and functions of all government agencies related to overseas employment and migration into one department.
It will also promote streamlined coordination among various officials and offices based abroad through the one country-team approach.
“[It is] about time that we create a Cabinet-level, a secretary-led department with an organization structured to work together as one team to protect the rights and advance the interests and welfare of about 10 percent of our population who reside abroad,” Go said.
Under the new DOFil bill, “all officers, representatives, and personnel of the Philippine government posted abroad regardless of their mother agencies shall, on a per-country basis, act as one country-team with a mission under the leadership of the Ambassador or the Consul General.”
SBN 1949 is the third iteration of a measure filed by Go in 2019. The latest version of the bill ‘represents the unified position of the entire Executive branch of the government’ including the agencies which will be affected by the reorganization. (PR)
