MANILA, Philippines — On its last session day before its Lenten break, the House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on third and final reading the bill creating the Department of Filipinos Overseas and Foreign Employment.

With 173 affirmative votes, 11 negative votes and no abstention, the lower chamber approved House Bill No. 5832 or “An Act Creating the Department of Filipinos Overseas and Foreign Employment, Defining its Mandate, Powers and Functions, Appropriating Funds Therefor.”

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Under the bill, the department is tasked to “protect the rights and promote the welfare of Filipinos overseas; to formulate, plan, coordinate, promote, administer, implement policies, and undertake systematic national development programs for managing and monitoring the overseas or foreign employment of Filipino workers.”

Specifically, among the tasks of the department is the regulation of deployment overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the promulgation of regulations on the deployment of sea-based and land-based Filipino workers abroad.

It is also tasked to help OFWs who fell victim to illegal recruitment and human trafficking as well as provide social and welfare services to OFWs such as insurance and social work assistance, among others.

In terms of foreign relations, the department is tasked to “build a strong and harmonious partnership” with other countries and to assess policies and labor conditions where OFWs will be deployed.

Several agencies and their functions — such as the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), all Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) under the Department of Labor and Employment, the International Labor Affairs Bureau under DOLE, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) — will be transferred to the department.

The department will also supervise the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) as an attached agency.

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