You are one of the lucky ones. This would be your third stint in an appointive position, while others continue to dream of being regularized after years of anonymity in government as a contractual employee. Your first appointment was as a member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board in 2017. The second appointment bestowed upon you was assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO). After a string of controversies, you tendered your resignation from this office on October 3, 2018.
Last Monday, your name was on a list of new appointees, as deputy administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. As a labor advocate, I am quite familiar with OWWA. You and I count your latest boss, Administrator Hans Cacdac, as among the best of the best, when it comes to caring for our migrant workers. OWWA is also blessed to have the most hardworking and dedicated professionals you can find in government.
One of them is OWWA Repatriation Division Director Jo Hapal. A few days ago, her brother passed away due to lung cancer, and yet, even while deep in mourning, you will find Jo at her desk attending to requests for repatriation. What can be more justifiable to be absent from work than the death of a loved one? Yet, there she was, attending a meeting and making arrangements for the repatriation of 100 distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Kuwait on Sunday.
You will also get to meet Hector Cruz, our welfare attaché assigned to look after our workers in Libya. Hector is not one to shy away from a challenge, even at the risk of his very own life. He has been deployed to Syria, Iraq, and Libya, and was first to arrive to ensure the safety of our migrants when a massive earthquake hit a remote town in Italy. Always cool and with a sunny disposition, Hector is an asset in every crisis. Be sure to listen to his stories, Mocha. You will learn a lot from him.
And, of course, we have the one and only, Hans Cacdac. He has his detractors, some of whom find him too pro-OFW. Those detractors mainly belong to the recruitment industry. As a son of an OFW, Cacdac has done a lot to improve the image of OWWA. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III can attest to the fact that the OWWA administrator is a one-man command center, fielding urgent requests for rescue and repatriation through group chats and text messages.
This is your new family in government, Mocha. Treasure them, please. I know that you can identify with our overseas workers because you worked as an entertainer for one year in Doha, Qatar, as the founder and leader of Mocha Girls. But things are different now; expectations are higher. It is an open secret that you are close to President Duterte and Sen. Bong Go. Your performance will reflect on their decision to appoint you the third time around.
Having worked in the overseas employment for 15 years, I can attest that our OFWs can be your best supporters and also your most vocal critics. While they identify with you as a former OFW, they will also want more than just the usual hugs and “selfies.” They will expect you to be knowledgeable about the programs and operations of OWWA. Since their contributions to the OWWA Fund have reached P19.4 billion, they would also expect you to guard these funds zealously, with full devotion to transparency.
You acknowledged the weight of this new responsibility in our phone conversation yesterday. You said, and I quote: “Sobrang excited po ako. Even before, marami nang lumalapit sa akin na OFWs para humingi ng tulong. Familiar na rin po ako sa OWWA dahil tuwing may biyahe si Presidente at may mga OFWs na lumalapit, kay Admin Hans ko sila inilalapit. Mabigat po na responsibilidad ito.”
Well, as deputy administrator, it would be your job to help Cacdac in responding to all the SOS calls from OWWA members all over the map. Talk about role reversal. You have the absolute best mentor in Hans Cacdac. Please don’t go over his head even when you may easily find ways to do so. Respect him as we all do.
I appreciate your humble response when I asked about how you intend to redeem yourself as a public servant in this new role. “Lahat naman po tayo a work in progress. Sabi nga po ni Senator Bong Go, pambihira ang pagkakataon to serve the country. I will do my very best po to serve our OFWs.”
As I’ve said, you are one of the lucky ones. Those who think of you in the harshest way may have their reasons to do so. But hey, here’s to a new beginning. Get to know the policy ropes. Follow and support your boss, Cacdac, and, of course, Bello, in their efforts to save OWWA from extinction, as a possible casualty of pending legislation seeking to create a new OFW department.
I wish you well, Mocha. Take good care of our OFWs and be proud to be part of team OWWA.
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Susan V. Ople heads the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, a nonprofit organization that deals with labor and migration issues. She also represents the OFW sector in the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.
Image credits: Presidential Communications Operations Office