Senate passes bill creating OFW Department on 2nd reading

The Senate on Monday passed on second reading the bill creating a specific department for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs.)

Its passage came more than six months after it was sponsored on the Senate plenary.

Prior to its second reading approval, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon sought amendments to Senate Bill 2234, including the changing of the agency’s name from the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos (DMWOF) to Department of Migrant Workers.

This would limit the jurisdiction of the proposed department for OFWs to overseas employment and labor migration only, preserving the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) authority over other Filipinos overseas, he explained.

Drilon likewise introduced an amendment which will require the department to secure a written authorization from the President of the Philippines, through the DFA, before going to any international meetings or negotiations on treaties or executive agreements on matters within its mandate.

Senator Francis Tolentino backed Drilon’s amendment, saying the provision would stress the DFA's "primordial role" in treaty negotiations.

Furthermore, the minority leader sought to ensure that the DFA would retain its assistance to national and legal assistance funds for the benefit of other Filipinos abroad and for consular services.

The amendments were accepted by Senator Joel Villanueva, who sponsors SB 2234.

While the bill was certified as urgent, which means the lawmakers could pass the measure on second and third reading in one day, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri moved to defer the third reading approval so they could review the clean copy of the bill and allow more senators to vote on the measure.

“To get the clean copies, we do a third reading when we have more members, I’m sure many members would like to vote on this particular, important measure,” Zubiri said.

In May, President Rodrigo Duterte certified SB 2234 as urgent.

Duterte has also reiterated his call to pass the bill creating the department for OFWs in his final State of the Nation Address in July. — BM, GMA News