MANIFESTATION SPEECH
Establishment of the Department of Overseas Filipinos
December 7, 2020

Mr. President, distinguished colleagues.

The hearing of the Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, joint with the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Finance, on the proposed establishment of a Department of Overseas Filipinos/ Filipino Workers, had been scheduled for this morning.

Late me place on record during the start of the hearing that our goal is clear: We want to address the plight of our modern-day heroes and to provide them with more and better services. We likewise expressed openness to the inputs of our colleagues and our resource persons in understanding whether addressing the gaps and loopholes in rendering service to the OFWs necessitates the creation of a separate department. Alam naman po ng lahat na mula po ng nakaraang Kongreso, patuloy nating tinatrabaho ang pagbabalangkas ng isang komprehensibong panukala para tugunan ang mga pangangailangan ng ating mga OFWs.

We are aware that during the deliberations on the 2021 budget, there are members of the Senate who shared their strong reservations on the creation of new departments, including the Department of Overseas Filipinos. On the record, the Rightsizing bill was also identified as part of the legislative agenda in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) for 2017 to 2020, and was also included in the President's SONA last year.

That being said, our Senate Minority Floor Leader has moved to defer the hearing on the creation of the Department of Overseas Filipinos until the appropriate committee properly hears Senate Bill No. 244 or the "Rightsizing the National Government Act".

Upon, hearing the motion,we immediately called a caucus among the members of the committees. The Minority Leader generously recommended to allow the Cabinet Secretary to at least present the latest developments in the Administration Bill, which the Committee on Labor received on December 2, 2020.

Following all these, the Committee formally referred this motion to the Committee on Rules. We submit to the wisdom of the Committee on Rules for a decision on this matter.

Regardless, we are more than ready to tackle this measure on the proposed Department of Overseas Filipinos.

Our dream for our OFWs is big. More than the assistance and services provided to them during pre-deployment and deployment, we must ensure full cycle upliftment on the improvement of the lives of OFWs and their families.