Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople expressed her deepest gratitude to the Senate, following the approval of the P16.3 billion budget of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
“This is a historic day for all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and OFW advocates around the world. We thank the Senate for recognizing the need to augment and approve the DMW’s 2023 budget, the department’s first ever and a requirement for its full constitution. We commit to full transparency, accountability, and judicious use of public funds,” Ople said in a statement.
Ople said that the budget will support the setting up 16 DMW Regional Offices and Centers across the country, Overseas Employment Adjudication Offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) and in Regions 3, 4-A, 7, and 11; and expand Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs), formerly known as Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs), in selected overseas locations.
Senator JV Ejercito said that the passage of the DMW’s very first budget will make the department a fully constituted agency of government.
Ejercito also noted the qualifications of Ople to lead the new department saying, “likewise this representation believes that no other person is more fit to head the Department of Migrant Workers than Secretary Toots Ople whose name is synonymous already to the laborers.”
“Karangalan po natin ang makita na tumatakbo na ang DMW ayon sa layunin ng batas. We are hopeful the current structure of the DMW will address the concerns of our migrant workers and we commit to help the leadership in any way we can,” Senator Joel Villanueva said.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, meanwhile, explained his support for the DMW budget was a way of giving back to the country’s OFWs for keeping the economy afloat.
“Assuming they contributed an estimated two to four trillion pesos in remittances over the 5-year period from 2017-2021, siguro naman ibabalik mo rin ng konti yung malaki ang kinikita. And in this case, it’s not just yung laki ng kinikita it’s also yung pawis at dugo na binibigay ng OFWs natin,” Cayetano said.
The Senate provided an additional appropriation of P500M for the operationalization of the OFW Hospital in Mabalacat, Pampanga.
Ople said that the additional funding will help the OFW Hospital to hire personnel for its 229 regular staff positions, acquire new equipment, and fund its operating expenses.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), an attached agency of the DMW, received an additional P100M from the Senate. The additional funds will support the establishment of OWWA regional offices in Mindanao.
Ople thanks Senate for passage of DMWs P16.3B budget
Source: Pinoy News Udpates PH
0 comments :
Post a Comment