Ople’s 95th birthday marked with forum on OFWS
TO mark the 95th birth anniversary of Blas F. Ople, former Labor Secretary, Foreign Affair Secretary and Senate President, the Blas Ople Policy Center and Training Institute partnered with Businessmirror to organize the Blas F. Ople Forum on “Philippine Overseas Employment: Past, President and Future.”
The forum had two panel discussions. The first discussion tackled “Remembering Ka Blas” and the guest speakers were former Labor Secretary Marianito Roque, former Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, Businessmirror Senior Reporter Butch Fernandez and Susan “Toots” Ople. President of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute.
The second panel discussion, which was facilitated by Toots Ople, was titled “Understanding the Department of Migrant Workers.” Those who participated in the discussion were Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Arriola; Administrator Bernardo Olalia of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration; Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and Atty. Darlene Pajarito of ASEAN-ACT (Aseanaustralia Counter Trafficking).
Welcome remarks
The welcome remarks were given by Businessmirror Publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon who thanked Toots Ople for inviting the publication to help organize the forum to discuss the creation of a new department that will have an impact on overseas Filipino workers (OFWS).
This was followed by inspirational messages given by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and D. Edgard A. Cabangon, Chairman of the ALC Media Group.
In his message, Locsin paid tribute to Ople “whose life’s work revolved around the protection and the upliftment of the Filipino migrant worker.”
“Throughout his remarkable career in government, Blas employed considerable talents as writer, thinker, and the one high public official with a completely untarnished record of personal honesty and intellectual integrity to improve the welfare of Filipino workers and their standing in society. He introduced an elevated labor standard and created public institutions dedicated to the protection of workers’ rights,” he said.
Overseas employment program
Ople, Locsin added, is “perhaps best known for initiating the Philippine Overseas Employment Program that transformed millions of Filipino lives and made them worth living.”
“Since the program started in 1976, countless Filipino workers have ventured to far places, equipped with the right skills, fired by unwavering commitment to work hard and well, having their poor families in mind with the determination to build a future in a country that always eluded the future until they came along,” he said.
Modern day heroes
Locsin noted that OFWS are today considered heroes not only by Filipinos but
by their host communities as well.
“It is only right that we honor them in true Blas Ople style—by continuing to fight for their protection and rights particularly in this unprecedented pandemic challenge,” he said.
On the policy side, Locsin said that in 2018, the United Nations adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, a compact that was crafted mainly by the UN New York Permanent Representative.
“We followed with a Republic Act creating the Department of Migrant Workers. It is the first law in the world that qualifies the progressive realization of the 23 objectives of the global compact. This will create a new government agency, consolidating existing key offices with migration related functions into a single, hopefully streamlined entity, as good at the job as the DFA has been overtaxed as it is with purely diplomatic concerns,” he added.
Immense contribution
For his part, Bello said DOLE “recognized the immense contribution of Ka Blas, specifically in the advancement of labor and employment in our country.”
“He steered the labor department for almost 20 years as labor minister. His length of service is unmatched and his trail blazing contributions to advance the interest of the Filipino working main remained unparalleled,” he said.
In his message, Cabangon related that when he was still studying at the College of Law at the University of Sto. Tomas, a sorority had wanted to invite Ople to speak at their event and had asked him for his help.
He asked his father, former Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua, to help him invite Ople and he showed up without any fanfare.
“I was the only one who was there to welcome him to the event and he said that he was very happy to attend the event. Ka Blas added that he could never say no to a good friend who was my father,” he said.
Benjamin Ramos, President of Nine Media Corp., gave the closing remarks and said that this was a forum that could have lasted for several days.
“The Philippine story of labor migration spans centuries. This forum, is so aptly named after the late Labor and Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople, rightly focuses on the continuing nature of that story. It is indeed, past, present and future,” he said.