(File photo) MANILA - The House of Representatives on Wednesday adopted the Senate version of a bill seeking to establish the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) that would address all issues and concerns of Filipino workers abroad in one single agency. With the adoption of the Senate version, the two chambers would no longer hold a bicameral conference committee meeting and the measure would be transmitted to Malacanang for President Rodrigo Duterte's signature. The bill, certified urgent by Malacanang in May, seeks to consolidate into a single coherent office the agencies which attend to the needs of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Under the bill, the proposed department will orchestrate all efforts and policies for the protection of OFWs. The functions and mandate of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will be absorbed by the proposed department. With POEA as the backbone, a total of seven offices are consolidated and merged as the Department of Migrant Wo
(File photo) MANILA - The House of Representatives on Wednesday adopted the Senate version of a bill seeking to establish the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) that would address all issues and concerns of Filipino workers abroad in one single agency. With the adoption of the Senate version, the two chambers would no longer hold a bicameral conference committee meeting and the measure would be transmitted to Malacanang for President Rodrigo Duterte's signature. The bill, certified urgent by Malacanang in May, seeks to consolidate into a single coherent office the agencies which attend to the needs of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Under the bill, the proposed department will orchestrate all efforts and policies for the protection of OFWs. The functions and mandate of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will be absorbed by the proposed department. With POEA as the backbone, a total of seven offices are consolidated and merged as the Department of Migrant Wo
(Photo courtesy of OFW Help Facebook) MANILA - Senator Christopher "Bong" Go on Tuesday lauded his colleagues' approval of the legislation creating a Department of Migrant Workers, a move which he said inches closer toward fulfilling one of the campaign promises of the Duterte administration to improve the condition of the overseas labor force. The bill, certified urgent by Malacanang in May, seeks to consolidate into a single coherent office the agencies which attend to the needs of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). "This bill is not just part of the legacy of the Duterte administration but also of this Congress," Go, one of the bills' co-authors, said in his manifestation speech. He also thanked Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resource Development chair, Senator Joel Villanueva, for working for the bill's passage. "I just want to congratulate and thank the hardworking sponsor, Senator Joel Villanueva, for pushing for the passage of this