DOLE, DMW CRAFT NEW JOINT ADVISORY FOR SMOOTH SHIFT

TO ensure the smooth transition for the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the agency will come out with a new joint advisory with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to finally iron out the operational changes between the two departments.

The new issuance is expected to delineate the tasks and operations of DOLE and DMW amid the ongoing transition process for the creation of the latter.

In a press conference last Friday, Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma disclosed he will be meeting again with his DMW counterpart, Susan “Toots” V. Ople this week for the completion of the new joint advisory they will issue.

“Probably by next week we can finalize the joint advisory which will give clarity and guidance to our affected OFWS [overseas Filipino workers], who previously got service from the Department of Labor and Employment but will now be accommodated by the Department of Migrant Workers,” Laguesma said.

Last December, Republic Act No. 11641, which created the DMW to exclusively handle the affairs of OFWS by absorbing existing agencies.

Four of the affected agencies, namely, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA); Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO); the National Reintegration Center for OFWS (NRCO), and National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) are part of DOLE.

The said DOLE offices will be subsumed under DMW once it is fully constituted.

In the months following the formation of DMW, there were reported disruptions and stakeholder confusion in the processing of OFWS due certain acts made by Ople’s predecessor in the ongoing transition period.

Laguesma said these matters are expected to be resolved by the new joint advisory.

Among the matters to be clarified by the new advisory will be the funding of the DMW, which currently remains with DOLE until the former is fully constituted.

“Remember the funds are still with the Department of Labor and Employment and we are still accountable for it. We have to sort this out with the DBM [Department of Budget and Management] to ensure a smooth transfer,” Laguesma said.

It will also address to which government office the labor attaches will report to as well as the handling of the pending appeal in POEA decisions, which were previously handled by the Secretary of Labor.

“We already have a draft of the possible advisory to address the said issues,” Laguesma said.