The Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs chaired by Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza (Party-list, TUCP) created a technical working group on Thursday to consolidate and fine-tune the provisions of seven bills seeking to provide for the insurance coverage of all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). In his sponsorship speech on House Bill 3811, Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez cited that there have been numerous reports of maltreatment and exploitation suffered by OFWs.
“This led me to file this bill. The objective is to really protect our overseas workers,” he said. HB 3811 would entitle OFWs to accidental death benefits, survivor’s benefits, permanent total disablement financial assistance, repatriation financial assistance, subsistence allowance, as well as to legitimate monetary claims for unpaid or rightful and just wages. The panel likewise approved the committee report on the House Resolution 1152, calling for the ratificatipn of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 188 or the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007. The legislators then received updates from concerned agencies on the situation of OFWs affected by the pandemic. International Labor Affairs Bureau Director Alice Visperas reported that the government had already granted USD2.581 million worth of food and medical assistance as well as USD1.047 million worth of financial assistance to COVID-infected OFWs.
Meanwhile, Mendoza appealed to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to confer with Congress on the prioritization of OFWs in the government’s vaccination program. However, Dr. Kim Patrick Tejano of the Department of Health said the agency is still awaiting the priority list of essential workers from the IATF. The committee will reconvene on March 25 to resume deliberations on the matter.
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