Inihayag ni Susan “Toots” Ople na tinanggap na niya ang alok ni presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. na pamunuan ang bagong tatag na Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
Sa panayam ng ANC, sinabi ni Ople na nakipagpulong siya kina Atty, Vic Rodriguez, tagapagsalita ni Marcos, at incoming Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, nitong Lunes.
Ayon kay Ople, ang kapakanan ng mga Pinoy na nagtatrabaho sa abroad ang pangunahing direktiba ni Marcos sa kaniya bilang pinuno ng DMW.
“We cannot go into details but I think what’s important is the overall tone of the conversation which is that we should make sure that workers' protection is paramount and we also need to balance that because we’re a player in the global economy. So we need to be conscious of the demands of the supply chain while making sure that labor rights are not compromised,” paliwanag ni Ople, na isang OFW advocate sa pinamumunuang Blas Ople Policy Center.
Bilang pinuno ng DMW, sinabi ni Ople na nais niyang igiya ang kuwento ng overseas labor mula sa pagiging “welfare case” bilang “informed choice” ng OFWs at kanilang pamilya.
“Right now, di pa umaalis ang tingin na sa kaniya (OFW) welfare case eh. Setting aside the structure, ‘yung failure. I would like them to leave na as dignified as possible na parang it is an informed choice, not a rash decision. It was an informed choice to be made together with the family. So that mindset I want to bring to the table,” paliwanag ni Ople.
“And I want to tell them, the OFWs, ‘Don’t see yourself as kawawa because certainly, we don’t look at you like that.’ What we want is all of us are architects of our own economic recovery, so you are part of the economic recovery. All the stakeholders should treat each other as partners,” dagdag niya.
Nangako rin si Ople na susuriin nila ang hiring system ng OFWs dahil mayroong mga “good” employees ang madaling ma-recruit ng “bad” employers.
“Why is it difficult for good employers to get Filipinos in the same way that bad employers... sometimes they even have an easier time getting Filipino workers. There's something wrong with the system, so we need a system review. We also need a performance review,” pahayag niya.
Si Ople ay anak ng namayapang dating Senate President, dating Labor, at dating Foreign Affairs Secretary na si Blas Ople. — FRJ, GMA News
