endIndex:
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 25) – Two priority measures listed by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council reached the Senate plenary on Tuesday.
The legislative measures are Senate Bill No. 2234, establishing the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos, and Senate Bill No. 2232, which creates a tax regime for Philippine offshore gaming operators.
In his sponsorship speech, Senator Joel Villanueva clarified the proposed department does not encourage Filipinos to leave the country. By putting eight government agencies and offices under one roof and one head does not mean a shift to embracing labor-export as a policy, but plainly a shift to improve collaborative governance from the ad-hoc services it creates, said Villanueva.
Senator Joel Villanueva speaks during a Senate hearing on February 24, 2020. (Senate PRIB/Henzberg Austria)
On Tuesday, May 25, Villanueva, chairman of the Senate labor committee, sponsored to the plenary Senate Bill No. 2234, which seeks to establish a Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos (DMWOF) to respond the needs of over 10 million Filipinos around the world.
The bill consolidates all proposals on the creation of a department for OFWs, which they earlier called the Department of Overseas Filipinos (DOFIL).
In his speech, Villanueva said the structure of the DMWOF should meet the needs for “navigating a world full of challenges to overseas Filipino workers, such as the post-pandemic world.”
Press Release
Senator Joel Villanueva Chairman,
and by understanding it is established.
(Proverbs 24:3)
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues:
It is an honor to be given this privilege to sponsor a bill that has become a center of the nation s attention over the past couple of months, a piece of legislation that will chart the future of the global Filipino.
After five hearings, marathon hearings, of the Committee on Labor jointly with the Committees on Civil Service, Foreign Relations and Finance, two global OFW consultations, three long Technical Working Group meetings, and our Committees all members meeting yesterday morning, we are ready to report to this august chamber Senate Bill No. 2234 or the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act (DMWOFA) under Committee Report No. 264.
The Philippine government has expanded its travel ban to include Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a bid to prevent the spread of a double-mutant version of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which was first discovered in India Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque said the imposition of the travel ban on Oman and the […]
Trade economist Thea Lee named U.S. Labor Dept international chief By Syndicated Content
May 10, 2021 | 5:31 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) â The U.S. Labor Department on Monday said trade economist and former union official Thea Lee has been named to lead the agencyâs International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB), an office that will police the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreementâs labor provisions.
Lee, who was previously president of the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank in Washington, spent 20 years at the AFL-CIO as the union federationâs chief of staff, policy director and chief international economist until 2017.
In a statement, Lee said she was âthrilledâ to have the opportunity to lead the bureau as deputy undersecretary at a consequential time for workers.