SEN. Raffy Tulfo called for the immediate passage of Senate Bill 2423 or the Bagong Balikbayan Act, a measure seeking to establish a comprehensive, integrated, and sustainable reintegration program for returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Tulfo, chairman of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, sponsored the bill during a plenary session on Tuesday.
In his speech, Tulfo said that while the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and other concerned agencies have initiated steps toward fulfilling their mandate to implement a comprehensive national reintegration program under Republic Act 11641, the current reintegration system remains fractured and there are still gaps to be filled.
“Today, our National Reintegration Network merely acts like an ‘emergency room’ rather than a recovery center. There are still many returning OFWs whose savings are being depleted because of bad investments and deceptive business deals,” Tulfo said.
“Some OFWs, despite attaining high positions and acquiring specialized skills abroad, end up either jobless or underemployed when they return because of poor job matching. Others come home with psychological trauma from negative experiences abroad, leaving them unable to work,” he added.
Tulfo said the bill aims to institutionalize the existing mechanisms and programs being implemented by the DMW, in collaboration with other agencies, which have been proven effective and successful to ensure continuity of the program and proper funding.
The measure mandates the initiation of the reintegration process at six months before the actual return of the OFW and recognizes four paths, namely education, psychosocial and social support services, entrepreneurship, and employment.
