Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has appealed for a higher budget for the newly-established Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), saying the contribution of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the country’s economy merits a more substantial allocation for the government agency tasked with ensuring their welfare.
“P2 trillion to P4 trillion pesos ang contribution ng OFWs to the economy over the last five years, and then we’ll give them P16 billion budget?” Cayetano said in a manifestation during the Senate sponsorship presentation of the 2023 budget for the DMW.
The Senate had passed a P16.2 billion budget for the DMW after insertions, up from an initial P14.9 billion laid out in the 2023 general appropriations bill.
Cayetano, however, said the appropriation should be even higher.
“Let us give them P20 billion, P25 billion, P30 billion in funds,” he said.
The senator directed his appeal to Malacañang as well as his colleagues in the House of Representatives, saying that giving the DMW a higher budget in its first year will send the signal to OFWs and their families that the gover ment is serious about advancing their interests.
“Let’s make a significant impact in the first year. We don’t want to be so sentimental na finally may department for OFWs and then not meet the expectation,” he said.
Cayetano also used his manifestation to endorse DMW Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople, who he described as a trusted name among OFWs because of her advocacy for migrant workers’ rights.
Ople is the daughter of the late Blas Ople, who served government in many capacities, including Secretary and Minister of Labor. He was also instrumental in the framing of the Labor Code of the Philippines.
Cayetano acknowledged Secretary Susan Ople’s fight against cancer, saying this does not diminish her ability to lead the DMW.
