JV Ejercito: Infra dev’t to help reintegrate returning OFWs
January 25, 2023
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito said
infrastructure development can help facilitate the reintegration of overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) returning to the country.
During a hearing of the Senate Committee on
Economic Affairs, Ejercito told officials of the Department of Migrant Workers
(DMW) to study how returning OFWs can benefit from the country’s infrastructure
and industrialization programs.
“Yung sa mga OFWs natin, probably in the long
term, kung talagang matuloy itong industrialization natin at matapos yung mga
infrastructure, yung integration ng OFWs, that should be part of the long-term
plan of the DMW,” he said.
“When the infrastructure is already in place,
I think with the creation of the growth nodes, we can already include the
reintegration of our OFWs in this long-term comprehensive master plan,” he
added.
Heeding Ejercito’s proposals, Migrant Workers
Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the DMW will expand its current
reintegration program, which has already assisted returning engineers and
teachers.
“Meron na tayong mga karanasan. Siguro,
ibrobroaden nalang natin at lalakihan nalang natin ang scale para po mas marami
ang makabalik at makapagtrabaho,” he said.
Furthermore, Ejercito asked the Department of
Transportation (DOTr) to prioritize the hiring of returning OFWs in building
and operating the country’s major railway projects.
“I think that the DOTr would need itong mga
skilled workers natin, especially sa mga railways and others,” he said.
Ongoing railway projects, such as the North
South Commuter Line, South Long Haul, and Mindanao Railway, are expected to
spread development across the country’s rural areas and pave the way for growth
development areas beyond Metro Manila and other major urban centers, the
lawmaker said.
“Once we finish all of these, we will create
growth development areas and growth nodes in every province. We will have
industrial parks, commercial areas, food terminal,” Ejercito said.
“Di dapat Metro Manila, Cebu or Davao lang.
Dapat yung mga provinces, magkaroon ng opportunities,” he added.
In July, Ejercito filed Senate Bill No. 158,
which seeks to create and institutionalize a comprehensive infrastructure
development master plan.
The plan would cover several areas of
development, such as transportation and logistics, energy, water resources,
information and communications technology, social infrastructure,
agri-fisheries modernization and food logistics, and asset preservation and
maintenance strategies.
The lawmaker from San Juan said his proposed
master plan hopes to ensure the continuity of the country’s infrastructure
program, regardless of changes in administration.
“Ang problema sa’tin, because of the political system,
laging nakatuon sa short- and medium-term because of the six-year term. Kung
sino ang Presidente, titignan lang ‘yon. But now, we have to have a blueprint
that we will follow in the next 20, 30, even 50 years,” he said.
