I have kept close ties with the Villar family ever since the 2010 presidential elections when former Senate President Manny Villar ran as a presidential candidate. I could never forget his kindness and generosity to the people who supported his bid, including the senatorial candidates of the Nacionalista Party. My father was a party stalwart during the Marcos days and so it was but natural that my first foray into national politics was under that same illustrious party.
Nine years hence, I have seen and felt the sincerity of the Villar family in looking after the welfare of our overseas Filipino workers. What some described as a campaign gimmick now remains unsurpassed in terms of actual accomplishments. For one, the family’s private foundation known as the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (Villar SIPAG) has helped numerous distressed OFWs through its livelihood and repatriation programs.
Sen. Cynthia Villar has taken on the role of OFW champ in the Senate, just as her husband did during his own incumbency. She was among the first to question the imposition of airport terminal fees on departing OFWs, contrary to an existing law that exempts them. She also filed a bill, now enacted into law, which extended the validity of Philippine passports from five to the current 10 years. In budget hearings at the Senate, she would always ask the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment to submit budget proposals aimed at improving repatriation and on-site services for our OFWs.
Listening intently to the wish list of our overseas workers, the senator filed a bill creating the Department of Migration and Development, which quite a few labor migration experts have expressed preference for, over other similar bills. What made her proposal stand out was its emphasis on the development aspect of migration: that all Filipinos overseas have something to contribute to national progress. It seeks to create the Inter-Agency Council on Migration and Development that would mainstream the overseas employment sector in the Philippine Development Plan. Villar’s bill seeks to preserve the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration as an attached agency, while also strengthening OFW reintegration programs.
Together with other OFW groups, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, which I head, recently attended the Villar SIPAG Foundation’s Values Enrichment and Financial Literacy Seminar for OFWs. In her speech, Villar said: “My personal dream is for our overseas workers to start their own businesses and become eventual employers. Their exposure to other cultures have expanded their horizons, and we should give them the wings to soar to greater heights, not just as workers but also as potential and actual employers.”
In one of the OFW forums, the senator shared this advice to former OFWs and OFW spouses: “If you plan to start a business, make sure that it’s something close to your heart. Try to apply as an apprentice or even volunteer to work for free if this would enable you to learn the ropes from the bottom up. Set aside your pride in order to learn from those more knowledgeable than you. For example, if you want to start a carinderia, you can look for a friend who owns one and ask questions or volunteer to help out. This way, you’ll have the chance to find out if that business is really for you before you part with your hard-earned savings.”
The senator also reminded OFW families to maintain a simple lifestyle. “Do not think that an OFW in the family will be there to provide for your needs all the time and every time. There comes a time when your loved one from abroad needs to come home and be cared for by the ones that benefited the most from his or her remittances. Be prudent with the money sent from abroad. Develop a culture of constant saving, rather than impulsive spending.”
For repatriated domestic workers, the Villar SIPAG Foundation is offering free training on house painting and other less physically draining construction skills, leading to employment in their own real-estate company. In our hometown of Hagonoy, Bulacan, graduates of the Foundation’s mobile skills training program are now employed by Vista Land.
I was there when an OFW from the Saudi Arabia who suffered head blows from her employer received enough grocery items and financial assistance to start a mini store. Through the years, such beneficiaries have grown in numbers. There will always be people who would criticize and find fault with the senator and her family, but perhaps it’s also time that those who have seen and felt their sincerity and generosity speak up.
On November 12, the Villar SIPAG Foundation will hold its ninth OFW and Family Summit at the World Trade Center. This whole-day event will feature lectures on income-generation, micro and small businesses, including agri-businesses, as well as talks on government programs for OFW families. For more details, please visit www.ofwsummit2019.villarsipag.orgfor more information.
Villar is a certified OFW champ, in my eyes, and in the eyes of so many distressed OFWs who have come to know and love her.
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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.
2 comments
transforming servant leaders, mostly servant pretent they are happy w/ there work.
i mean pretending