PASAY CITY — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) forged an agreement on Wednesday to better safeguard the rights and welfare of Filipinos overseas.
“Enhanced institutional collaboration with the OSG is vital,” said CFO Secretary Dante Ang II, emphasizing that the partnership would provide essential legal guidance in sensitive and complex cases involving Filipinos overseas.
The OSG delegation at the meeting at the CFO headquarters in Pasay City was led by Assistant Solicitor General Maria Hazel Valdez-Acantilado.
Often referred to as the government’s “tribune of the people,” the OSG serves as the principal law office of the Republic of the Philippines.
A key component of the discussions centered on the CFO’s work within the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat), the government’s primary body tasked with combating human trafficking.
As a council member, the CFO plays a frontline role in monitoring migration flows, conducting pre-departure counseling, and identifying potential trafficking risks among emigrants.
Janet Ramos of the CFO’s Migrant Information and Education Division briefed OSG officials on the commission’s preventive education programs and case referrals that have contributed to convictions in human trafficking and domestic violence cases.
Officials said the enhanced coordination is expected to streamline case preparation and prosecution, strengthen victim protection mechanisms, and further improve the Philippines’ compliance with international anti-trafficking standards.
The partnership builds on the CFO’s mandate under Batas Pambansa Blg. 79, the law that created the agency in 1980.
The measure tasks the commission with promoting and protecting the interests, rights, and well-being of Filipinos permanently residing abroad.
