Senate panel suspends hearing on new OFW department

The Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources on Monday deferred consideration of the bills proposing the creation of the Department of Overseas Filipinos.

Senator Joel Villanueva suspended the hearing upon the motion of Senate Minority Leader Frank Drilon, who made a motion to defer proceedings until the Senate tackles Senate Bill 244 or the Rightsizing the National Government Act that will address the issue of a bloated bureaucracy.

Drilon’s motion was referred to the rules committee.

Drilon read a letter in which he noted Senate President Tito Sotto’s push for his bill to right-size the government and how this conflicts with pending bills proposing the creation of new agencies, including the OFW department.

“In deference to the position of our Senate President on this important policy issue… I respectfully propose that the hearing on the creation of the Department of Overseas Filipinos be deferred until Senate Bill 244 is heard before the proper committee,” Drilon said.

He said “now is not the right time” for the chamber to prioritize the passage of the OFW department bill, citing the urgent need for the country to pool its limited resources to buy much-needed Covid-19 vaccines.

“The push for this new department comes as the government struggles to source funds for COVID-19 stimulus measures and vaccine procurement,” Drilon said.

The government will need to allocate P73 billion for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines and immunize around 60 million Filipinos.

Drilon, however, clarified that he maintains an open mind on the creation of a department of OFWs.

“We are open to the discussion of this proposed measure but it is our submission that it should be deferred given the situation that we are in today,” he said.

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