How to create OFW Department properly (Sabong News)

Hundreds of thousands of OFWs, including those who voted for President Duterte in 2016, are likely to be very much dejected when he steps down from office at end-June this year. Why so? Because he will leave behind a certain high-profile legacies aimed at OFWs which are more “palabas” (empty shows) than meaningful institutions. I need not go far to identify several of such legacies which raise more questions than answers, especially to long-time OFW affairs observers, such as myself. The OFW Bank is a case in point. Launched in June 2020, it now operates under government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines. Except for savings account openings and fund transfers, the OFW Bank offers little else today. So, why set it up in the first place if it can’t offer meaningful services like universal banks, like BDO, BPI and Metrobank? Can this OFW Bank offer much more to OFWs in the next few years? Hardly; that’s my opinion as a veteran financial journalist and editor. The OFW Hospital, now being constructed in Pampanga, is another questionable project. With its location in Pampanga, how can it serve OFWs in Mindanao, Visayas and even Bicol provinces? And now there’s the chaotic establishment of the OFW Department or the Department of Migrant Workers (DOMW). Although Duterte signed last December a law that created the new department and appointed lawyer Abdullah Mamao as its first secretary, the DOMW is unlikely to start operating in a year or more due to monstrous loose ends. Unknown to most OFWs, the DOMW is reportedly having major behind-the-scene turf battle among key Duterte officials – between those who will play key roles in it and those “outside the kulambo” (those without roles). How the turf war will be settled and who will have the final say to resolve the bureaucratic infighting is unclear, especially with Duterte leaving Malacanang soon. I can’t help but mull over this baffling question: If Duterte and confidante Senator Bong Go truly care for OFWs, why didn’t they ensure that the DOMW is set up properly, and is up and running before the end of their six-year terms? OFW advocate Susan Ople cited three problems that ail the DOMW: lack of DOMW law implementing rules and regulations (IRR); lack of staff or organizational structure; and lack of operating budget. But the more basic and fundamental issues, in my view, should be addressed first which are as follows: 1) Lack of extensive consultation with overseas Filipinos and inclusion of their inputs. Most OFWs around the world use Facebook and have internet access. So why wasn’t the law that created the DOMW and its IRR posted online for Filipinos across the world to give their views? This inexplicable lack of engagement now elicits growing complaints from OFW groups and advocates, including Eli Mua in Saudi Arabia. 2) Lack of transparency on how the DOMW enabling law was crafted. Due to this lack of transparency and engagement with OFWs, numerous aspects of the DOMW and how it will function vis-a-viz “non-participating” agencies, notably DOLE, are under fire. Whether Mamao has ample mandate and political will to sort out DOMW loose ends is also unclear. 3) Lack of information on the way forward for the DOMW. Since Duterte’s March 8 announcement of Mamao’s appointment as DOMW’s first secretary, the latter has not said anything on how the department will be set up and start its operations. Why the silence? 4) Lack of an OFW think tank Why set up one? The answer is as bright as the sun. Over 10 million Filipinos now live and work across the earth. Problems in the Middle East are different from those in Africa, South America and Asia-Pacific. Will pencil pushers in Manila understand and resolve complex OFW problems in different parts of the world? Cases in point: many officials and even OFW advocates in the Middle East don’t understand the oppressive Kafala system in the region and how best to address it in favor of OFWs. Illegal recruiters operate with impunity and no effective and timely actions are taken against them until now. Major blunders have been committed in the rush to form the DOMW. As currently crafted, the DOMW isn’t good enough. OFWs deserve much better than a half-baked, “bara bara” (rush-rush) agency. It’s not too late to go back to the drawing board and redo and repeat some of the vital and critical processes. This should necessarily include the setting up of a multi-sectoral DOMW think tank and conducting an extensive and inclusive public consultation with Filipinos across the world. Contact this writer at