(Photo courtesy of DFA)
MANILA – Senator Richard Gordon emphasized on Wednesday the imperative of protecting the welfare of millions of overseas Filipinos as he co-sponsored Senate Bill No. 2234 which will create a department solely dedicated to address all concerns of migrant workers and overseas Filipinos.
Gordon cited several cases of abuses against overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), including human trafficking and sexual harassment, while some were scammed by unscrupulous recruitment agencies.
He added there have been 117 referrals for search and rescue, and repatriation of Filipinos abroad received by Blas Ople Center in April of the current year alone.
The Opler Center is the designated non-governmental organization representative for OFWs in the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.
“The lack of opportunities has forced a lot of Filipinos to go abroad. We must protect our OFWs because they are our countrymen and we must have that solemn duty to protect them at all hours of their stay there,” he said during the plenary session.
“We have not been able to see our way clear in making sure that our people are adequately-protected. In these cases, we have to act fast because life is held on the balance,” he added.
Gordon has been consistently advocating for the protection and welfare of overseas Filipinos.
In 2018, he sponsored Republic Act No. 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018, which makes coverage in the Social Security System compulsory upon all sea-based and land-based OFWs, and that benefits such as retirement, death, disability, funeral, sickness and maternity, among others, shall be provided to them.
Moreover, thousands of Filipinos abroad were saved and brought home through Gordon’s efforts as chair and CEO of the Philippine Red Cross, such as those who were repatriated from Gaza, Haiti, Ivory Coast, and Sabah, Malaysia.
“I hope we will do this unanimously so that we could give peace of mind to many Filipinos,” Gordon said. (PR)
