DUBAI: More than 2 million Filipinos living across the Arab world hope a planned government department focused on their welfare will provide a desperately needed backstop after the pandemic highlighted their vulnerability in times of economic hardship. Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte, whose term ends next year, is promoting a bill to create the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos (DOFIL) – one of his original key campaign promises. It would replace the existing labyrinth of government agencies currently involved in overseas worker welfare. If passed, the law creating DOFIL would merge all existing agencies handling migrant workers concerns and create a dedicated department to help overseas Filipino workers, often known by the abbreviation of “OFWs.”