Be deployment-ready: Congress urged to fund OFWs’ training under Bayanihan 3

By Billy Begas

The Marino partylist on Tuesday urged Congress to include subsidized training for seafarers and land-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the proposed Bayanihan to Arise As One (Bayanihan 3).

Rep. Sandro Gonzalez said seafarers and OFWs were able to contribute roughly P1.5 trillion in the economy in the form of dollar remittances last year despite the travel restrictions and deployment ban.

“This has helped the country stay afloat despite the contraction of the country’s economy,” Gonzalez said.

But the pandemic, Gonzalez said prevented others to undergo complete training and acquire proper certifications needed for their deployment resulting in OFWs struggling to balance their resources for food, transportation, and processing of necessary documents.

“It is only right that we help them stay deployed,” said Macnell Lusotan, also a Representative of Marino.

Aside from subsidized training needed for their work, the party-list group also moved to include in the proposed Bayanihan 3 provisions mandating government agencies to develop and provide entrepreneurship and skills training to qualified seafarers and land-based OFWs.

The group said agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) can coordinate with the local government units in implementing the proposal.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)