LIVE: Senate hearing on proposed Department of OFWs
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development is holding a Monday a joint a hearing with the committees on foreign relations and finance on measures proposing the creation of a separate government department for Overseas Filipino Workers.
President Rodrigo Duterte revived the push for the creation of the new department in October, reminding Congress that "one of my proposals during the campaign period was the creation of Overseas Filipino (department)."
The bill's progress at the upper chamber has been hampered by "issues (that) are yet to be settled," Senate President Vicente Sotto III said then. While he did not go into specifics, he said these issues concerned the labor department and its attached agencies, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
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The proposal has also faced concerns that creating a department for OFWs would mean added costs and would institutionalize labor export, which was originally meant as a temporary solution to poor job prospects in the Philippines.
The House of Representatives has already approved its version of a bill creating a department to handle OFW concerns.
Watch the Senate hearing live here:
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