MIGRANTE International yesterday scored President Marcos Jr. for saying his government is working to have a better Philippines that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can come home to while pushing for labor export.
“What Marcos said to Filipino migrants in the US is different from what his government is doing. His promise to migrant Filipinos in the US is a kind of doublespeak,” said Migrante chairperson Joanna Concepcion said in a statement.
Proof of this, she said, is the push of the Marcos administration for OFW deployment to Hungary, Croatia, Germany, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and international seafaring vessels.
“The truth is that his government has been aggressively pushing for labor export, and the labor export program is now part of his government’s economic blueprint for the country,” she said.
“Labor Day has just passed and Marcos has refused to address calls for higher wages, lower prices, and other improvements in the country,” she also said.
To recall, Marcos was in Washington, DC from April 30 to May 4 for his second visit to the US since he assumed office in July 2022.
In his meeting with the Filipino community in the US, Marcos said his administration is working hard so that OFWs will be able to “come home for good and retire in a much better Philippines.”
Marcos also vowed for sustained efforts to improve the quality of jobs in the Philippines in order to make it unnecessary for Filipinos to look for jobs abroad. — Gerard Naval
