Dela Rosa lauds Senate approval of Dep't of Migrant Workers Act bill he authored and co-sponsored

SENATOR Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa has lauded the Senate approval of the bill that would create the Department of Migrant Workers.

"Mr. President (Vicente Sotto III), I would not want to lose this opportunity to congratulate all our kababayans overseas on this historic victory. Sa wakas, malapit na silang magkakaroon ng sariling departamento na mangangalaga sa kanilang mga karapatan at interes," Dela Rosa said in a manifestation on Tuesday shortly after the measure was passed on third and final reading.

Dela Rosa, one of the authors and co-sponsor of the Department of Migrant Workers Act measure, said the decision of every Filipino to go abroad to work has always been a lonely issue and a hard situation as well for every Filipino family.

"Katulad ng karamihan sa pamilyang Pilipino, ang aming pamilya ay napilitan din na magkahiwalay dahil sa pangingibang-bansa. Tatlo sa aking mga kapatid ang nangibang-bansa upang makahanap ng magandang trabaho," he said.

The Mindanaoan Senator said that according to an International Organization for Migration report, the Philippines is one of the top labor-sending countries in the world.

"With the better opportunities offered abroad, our kababayans are not only enticed but are actually left with no choice but to leave their families to work and earn a living," Dela Rosa noted.

He said the Senate approval of the measure "is a testament that our migrant workers, wherever they may be, are not forgotten."

He recalled that no less than President Duterte himself had promised when he was running for the presidency in 2016 for a single department that would be home and shelter for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

"I am privileged to be a part of this Congress that fulfills the government's promise of giving more consideration and care to our hardworking Filipinos abroad," he said.

He also praised Senator Joel Villanueva, chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Resource Development, for spearheading the bill and even making it a landmark achievement of the current 18th Congress.

"Hindi lang siya Tesdaman kundi may bago siyang bansag ngayon na 'BMW', or brother ng migrant workers," Dela Rosa said.

In his co-sponsorship speech last May, Dela Rosa had already expressed optimism that they would be able to pass the bill.

"We believe that the creation of a single department solely devoted to promoting the welfare and instituting a higher standard of safety of all overseas Filipinos will indeed harmonize and integrate the functions of the various agencies and offices that will make the delivery of services more accessible and available," he had said.