DMW preps up as full-fledged department
THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is preparing for its transition as a new department of the government starting next year.
DMW Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople said over the weekend that she has called for a strategic planning conference that will involve the participation of all Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) attaches to map out an action plan for the full implementation of the programs and services that will be provided to overseas Filipino Workers (OFWS) and their families.
“We expect a majority of our labor attaches to fly in and participate in this strategic planning conference, which will also feature resource persons on global security concerns, digitalization efforts and maritime affairs,” Ople said.
The DMW bill was signed into law by former president Rodrigo Duterte on December 27, 2021. It will be fully reconstituted as a new department in 2023 once President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signs the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2023.
The Senate approved a budget of P16.323 billion for the DMW last November 11.
Under the transformation, POLOs will become Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs).
MWOs will assist distressed OFWs not only in labor-related disputes but also when criminal cases are involved.
“The legal assistance aspect of the DFA’s (Department of Foreign Affairs) work will now be transferred to the DMW once the budget is approved and at the onset of 2023. We are in discussions with the DFA on how best to carry out this transition since our attaches abroad would also require some training on how to render legal assistance in partnership with law enforcement agencies in countries with a high concentration of OFWs,” Ople said.
She also sees the need for a massive information and dissemination campaign on the programs and services that the new department will provide to OFWs and their families.
“A lot of our OFWs don’t even know that the DMW now exists, where and how we can be reached, as well as the services that we offer. The DMW needs to make sure that such basic information can be delivered in the most effective and efficient way,” Ople said.
There are 42 Philippine Overseas Labor Offices worldwide with their budget still being drawn from the Department of Labor and Employment.
Based on a joint circular that Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma signed with Ople on July 7, the DMW will take over the administrative supervision of POLOs.
Next year, the DMW will also have its Aksyon Fund to hire lawyers and render psychosocial and other forms of humanitarian assistance to distressed OFWs.
The Aksyon Fund will be under the welfare and foreign employment cluster led by Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac. The guidelines for the fund were developed with inputs from stakeholders.
“We have so much to do because our transition into a fully constituted department is a continuing effort in collaboration with various departments, notably DoLE and the DFA. This year-end strategic planning conference will bring all of us together with one common goal: to make sure that the DMW is the best ‘home’ in government for our OFWs and their families,” Ople said.