Resource centers of Philippine embassies will be “transformed” to offer a wider range of “care and services” for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) instead of simply being sites for skills enhancement. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said this is part of President Benigno Aquino III's agenda to enhance the welfare of the OFWs. Under the plan, Filipino Workers Resource Centers (FWRCs), to be attached under the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), will offer expanded onsite services for Filipinos working abroad. “Full psychosocial assistance will be provided by the POLO and its network of reputable social workers and faith-based non-government organizations,” a statement issued by the DOLE said, quoting Labor secretary Rosalinda Baldoz. The FWRCs' new role will complement the “wholistic approach” in providing welfare and protection as well as “reintegration assistance” to OFWs, the statement said. Economic and reintegration assistance will include placement services, skills retraining, assessment and certification, and livelihood education assistance for dependents. Skills training and upgrading will be offered to OFWs as soon as they arrive at their overseas destination to prepare them for their reintegration upon returning to the country, the statement said. Reintegration planning will now be part of the Pre-Departure Orientation Services (PDOS) and Post Arrival Orientation Seminars (PAOS), which OFWs routinely undergo before they go abroad and after they arrive back. “The FWRCs as onsite centers for expanded protection will play an important part in the reintegration process,” Baldoz said. The DOLE secretary cited the FWRC in Malaysia, which has been offering various skills training programs for OFWs. For instance, it offers courses such as arts and crafts, Bahasa language, basic accounting, arnis, cosmetology, hair culture, nursing home care, business management, computer courses, culinary arts, dressmaking, English, financial management, reflexology, tailoring, voice lesson, and orientation on Philippine and Malasyian laws. These courses, Baldoz said, will equip OFWs with appropriate skills that would enable them to find better jobs or embark on livelihood projects that will help them sustain their overseas earnings and improve their economic chances upon their return to the country. She said the conduct of various skills training will be replicated in other FWRCs in other parts of the world where there is a high concentration of OFWs. Baldoz said these initiatives are in line with RA 10022, the law which amends RA 8042, or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995. “We are now full blast in redesigning our onsite protection and reintegration programs in accordance with the provisions of R.A. 10022 and its implementing rules and regulations,” Baldoz said in the same statement. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, International Labor Affairs Bureau, Philippine Overseas Labor Offices, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority are the DOLE agencies tasked by Baldoz to implement this agenda in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs.
