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Disseminate treaties, conventions to OFWs: Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, during the hybrid hearing of the Committee on Finance Subcommittee N Wednesday, October 5, 2022 on the proposed P15.2-billion 2023 budget of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), asks DMW Sec. Maria Susana “Toots” Ople how the agency could disseminate the treaties, conventions and agreements the Philippines had entered into so overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) could be aware of their rights. Legarda cited as an example the labor convention she sponsored as chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the 15th Congress which led to better protection and improved working conditions of Filipino seafarers. She said the concurrence of International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 189 also set the standards for decent work for domestic workers. “These are only two of 30 conventions, treaties and agreements that we entered into. How could you operationalize these so the OFWs will know their rights?” Legarda asked. Ople said the DMW could 1.) include the treaties, conventions and agreements in the mandatory videos they would require all foreign employers to view, particularly on domestic workers, before approving employment contracts; 2) integrate them on the online Pre-departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) for OFWs; and 3) include them in the country’s specific contracts. “We can link all these efforts and mainstream them into our work. Thank you. This is a very important insight,” Ople said. Legarda suggested making the conventions, treaties and agreements available in english as well as in the vernacular language. (Senate PRIB)