WITH the Department for Migrant Workers (DMW) yet to be fully constituted, the government offices to be absorbed by the new department will continue to operate independently for now.
Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea made the clarification after DMW Secretary Abdullah D. Mama-O recommended the recall of the appointment of some Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) officials.
In making such a request, Mama-O cited the supposed dissolution of POEA and the other concerned government agencies with the creation of the DMW.
In a letter he sent to Mama-O on Tuesday, however, Medialdea denied the request, stressing that the three conditions for the constitution of the DMW under Republic Act 11641 are still not met.
The conditions include the budget appropriation under the 2023 General Appropriations Act, effectiveness of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), and the completion of the staffing pattern for the new department.
“Considering that the DMW has not been constituted yet, it follows that the government entities/agencies enumerated in Section 19 of RA 11641 shall continue to exist separately and perform their respective mandates until DMW is constituted,” Medialdea said.
Of these conditions, the IRR of DMW is the most likely to be completed soon after it was signed this week.
Department of Labor and Employment spokesman Rolly Francia said the IRR was already submitted for approval of President Duterte.
“If found in order, Malacañang will cause its publication before it takes effect and serve as guide for the smooth transition leading to the full constitution and operation of the new department,” Francia said.
Aside from POEA, other agencies to be absorbed by the DMW include the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) of the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), and National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP).
It will also include the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Office of the Social Welfare Attache (OSWA) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).