Senator Raffy Tulfo announced plans to introduce a bill establishing a special court dedicated to handling cases involving overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), aiming to speed up the resolution of their complaints and improve access to justice.
The proposal falls under a broader measure creating a Migrant Workers Relations Commission (MWRC) within the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). According to Tulfo, the dedicated court system would allow OFWs to bypass the current lengthy process before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), which often delays case outcomes.
Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, disclosed the move during a meeting with Filipino workers in France. He said the initiative responds to recurring concerns from overseas communities.
“I believe every Filipino abroad deserves access to public service,” Tulfo said, emphasizing that the new mechanism seeks to protect migrant workers more efficiently.
He added, “That is why I will be filing several bills that directly respond to the needs of our OFWs and their families.”
Aside from the special OFW court, Tulfo outlined two other measures he plans to file when he returns to the Philippines. These include setting up one-stop service centers for OFWs in every municipality, intended to streamline government services from pre-deployment to reintegration, including family-related assistance. He said centralized access would help migrant workers avoid long queues and multiple agency visits.
A separate bill will propose expanding the scholarship program for OFW dependents, raising the current allocation from 5,000 to 10,000 slots and widening coverage from elementary to college education support.
