CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte has asked ambassadors about to go to their respective posts overseas to aggressively pursue bilateral labor agreements for the protection of Filipino workers in countries where the Philippines has no existing formal agreements.
Villafuerte particularly cited Ireland which has no formal labor accords with the Philippines.
Philippine Ambassador to Dublin Daniel Ramos Espiritu disclosed during a Commission on Appointments (CA) hearing work-related abuses being suffered by Ireland-based Filipino seafarers and nurses.
At the same time, Villafuerte urged Philippine diplomats to likewise ramp up their efforts to secure investment deals in their respective posts, particularly in the areas of renewable energy (RE), electronics, dairy, and processed meat.
Villafuerte cited a one of the 16 90-megawatt (MW) wind farm to be set up through a joint venture between the Aboitiz Power Corp. and the Dublin-based Mainstream Renewable Energy Corp. (MREC) in Libmanan, Camarines Sur.
“As our new ambassador, you should work with your counterpart (in Ireland) to make a labor agreement formal,” Villafuerte told Espiritu.
“And we hope, as ambassador, you will continue to attract RE investors from Ireland to the Philippines,” Villafuerte added.
The CA, in an en banc session, confirmed the appointments of the 28 DFA officials led by Espiritu and of lawyer Jose Mejia as a member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
