With armed conflicts in the Middle East still threatening the safety of Filipinos abroad, Sen. Bong Go urged the Senate finance committee to find money to keep the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) ready to respond to emergencies in 2027.
At the hearing on the DMW budget, Go zeroed in on the P26-billion difference between what the agency asked for and what the executive branch approved. The DMW requested P37.6 billion, but the National Expenditure Program (NEP) gives it P11.6 billion, about 30.8 percent of the proposal.
“Among those not included in the NEP are additional funding for the Aksyon Fund and funding for the creation of new Migrant Workers Offices. We want to know how this will affect the operations of DMW next year,” Go said.
The Aksyon Fund, short for Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan Fund, was set up under Republic Act 11641 to cover legal help and other aid for OFWs in distress.
Go also questioned DMW officials on the Overseas Filipino Workers Hospital in Pampanga, asking how the budget would affect the facility’s operations and services.
The senator’s push for new Migrant Workers Offices came from what he saw firsthand in Japan. During a recent visit, where he supported Filipino athletes at the Asian Games and met with the Filipino community, he learned that Nagoya has no dedicated office for migrant workers. Philippine Consul General Shirlene Mananquil raised the concern with him during the trip.
