GOV.PH establishes the Department of Migrant Worker to take care of heroes of the country - Filipino migrant workers

Besides creating a completely new government body committed to overseeing the affairs and defending the rights of millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the government of the Philippines also had submitted a proposal of allowing Filipino migrant workers into Taiwan in November 2021, saying that it hoped the quarantine and testing fees for migrant workers will be covered by a third party such as manpower (labor broker) agencies but not by themselves.

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President Rodrigo Duterte signed a bill to create the Department of Migrant Workers. (Photo / Retrieved from Facebook)

President Rodrigo Duterte signed a bill creating the Department of Migrant Workers into law on December 30, 2021. The new law aims to rename the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to the Department of Migrant Workers, which will be in charge of overseeing all policies pertaining to OFWs' welfare.

In the future, the Department of Migrant Workers will be responsible for the management of migrant workers’ recruitment, employment, dismissal as well as the formulation of laws and regulations, conducting investigations into human rights violations such as illegal recruitment and human trafficking. Besides, applying for various documents will be more convenient.

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In November 2021, Filipino migrant workers sent $2.5 billion back to their home country. (Photo / Retrieved from Pixabay)

According to statistics from the Department of Labor and Employment in the Philippines, there are many Filipino migrant workers living abroad. In 2019, there were as many as 2.2 million migrant workers who support the economy of their home country by contributing a lot of foreign remittances, accounting for nearly 10% of the national GDP. In November 2021, Filipino migrant workers sent $2.5 billion back to their home country, which is an increase of 5.1% compared to the same period in 2020.