TUCP party-list Congressman Raymond Democrito Mendoza presided over the recent public hearing on the implementation of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Act where he requested the officials of the DMW, Department of Foreign Affairs and various agencies under the Labor and Social Welfare and Development departments to meet and resolve all disputes on how the law should be interpreted before Labor Day (May 1).
Congressman Mendoza requested Secretary Abdullah Mama-o as well as the other Cabinet officials involved in the implementation of the DMW law to refrain from going to court and issuing press releases, and to just meet within the confines of a room to discuss the best way forward. He emphasized the need to make sure that the creation of the new department would not be derailed due to turf wars.
DMW Secretary Mama-o questioned the veracity of the most recent memorandum issued by the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES), pointing out that the signature affixed on the document was not that of Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea who was in the United States. A lawyer from the OES verified the document and said that Secretary Medialdea authorized the signatory.
Members of the Transition Committee said they will abide by the memorandum of ES Medialdea, which declared that President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the implementing rules and regulations formulated by the committee and its subsequent publication. With this presidential approval, will Secretary Mama-o concede to the Transition Committee’s version of the IRR thus nullifying the IRR that his office had earlier published in two major papers?
The sooner that the disputes over the IRRs and how the law should be interpreted are resolved without resorting to a long and tedious legal battle, the more favorable it will be to our overseas Filipino workers. After all, as Congressman Mendoza pointed out, our legislators worked hard to pass the DMW Act as their gift and tribute to our OFWs.
OWWA Deputy Administrator Arnell Ignacio contributed his own appeal and suggestion to the officials in conflict: “Group hug.” He said that all the personalities involved, including Secretary Mama-o, have good hearts, but unfortunately, the process of working together started off on the wrong foot. He jovially described all the executive officials involved in putting up the DMW as “wonderful people” and they could easily get together and work together, if all agree to start with a new, clean sheet.
I wholeheartedly concur with the recommendations of both Congressman Mendoza and DA Arnell Ignacio for the Cabinet Secretaries of the DMW, DFA, DOLE, DSWD and, of course, the OES, to meet, discuss and resolve all issues before Labor Day, and do so with a light heart guided only by what’s good for our OFWs. One of the hearing’s most positive outcomes was the commitment of Secretary Mama-o to arrange for said meeting to take place.
Foodpanda Philippines’s Fruits and Veggies Street Fest on Saturday
Meanwhile, this writer and OFW advocate would like to invite all our readers to a special event on Saturday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, along Emerald Avenue corner Garnet Road, Ortigas Center where our OFWs and foodpanda riders will be selling fresh fruits, vegetables and other food items as part of foodpanda Philippines’s Fruits and Veggies Street Fest.
This is part of the community program that foodpanda Philippines has initiated with various local governments and non-government organizations. This program is called, “BuyAnihan Palengke” and its origins can be traced to a successful launch held in Caloocan City in partnership with its anti-drugs council and an NGO named ACOP for the benefit of drug rehab graduates and displaced workers. We are grateful at the Blas F. Ople Policy Center to have entered into a partnership with foodpanda Philippines for the inclusion of distressed OFWs as among the many deserving beneficiaries of this program. Under our partnership agreement, the Ople Center will manage the BuyAnihan Palengke hub and its OFW beneficiaries with training and seed capital coming from foodpanda Philippines.
So please, join us on Saturday! Buy fruits and veggies, eat healthy, and help our OFWs as well as the families of foodpanda riders!
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.
