Senators Raffy Tulfo and Alan Peter Cayetano are backing the immediate passage of the proposed Bagong Balikbayan Act to give returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) better support as they rebuild their lives in the Philippines.
Tulfo, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, said the current reintegration system remains fragmented despite programs being implemented by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and other agencies.
“Today, our National Reintegration Network merely acts like an ‘emergency room’ rather than a recovery center,” Tulfo said during his sponsorship speech for Senate Bill No. 2423.
He said some returning OFWs lose their savings through bad investments and fraudulent business deals, while others end up unemployed or underemployed because their skills do not match available jobs.
Some also return home carrying psychological trauma from difficult experiences abroad, he added.
Under the bill, the reintegration process would begin six months before an OFW returns to the country. It would cover four areas, education, psychosocial and social support, entrepreneurship and employment.
The measure also calls for a Returnee-OFWs Management Information System or ROMIS, which would serve as a database and referral system for job matching, skills recognition, training and employment opportunities.
Returning OFWs who want to start businesses would also be given capacity-building programs, training and mentorship. The DMW would coordinate with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Finance (DOF) and government financial institutions for dedicated financing and loan programs.
Cayetano, meanwhile, expressed support for the measure but stressed that its success would depend on stronger coordination among government agencies.
“I’d like to support the provision na nilagay about interagency (cooperation),” Cayetano said, citing the need for the DMW, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Labor and Employment and other agencies to work together.
Cayetano, who played a key role in the creation of the DMW, also urged a review of the department’s mandate alongside the proposed law.
“By next year, up for mandatory review na y’ung batas ng DMW. I really hope we pass this bill, but I hope we can review it side-by-side with how the Department of Migrant Workers can be more effective,” he said.
Tulfo said the need for a permanent reintegration system has become more urgent as conflicts and other crises abroad continue to put OFWs at risk of sudden job losses and repatriation.
“Hindi puwedeng temporary assistance lang ang ating maibigay – gaya ng one-time cash dole-out at food packs. We need a permanent, institutionalized safety net ready to receive them,” he said.
The proposed program would cover all returning OFWs, whether land-based or sea-based, documented or undocumented, voluntarily or mandatorily repatriated, and those forced to return because of distressing conditions in their host countries.IMT
