OFWs from the '70s to the '90s
Back in the 1970s, labor migration was seen by the government not as a problem but a solution to rising unemployment and inadequate foreign exchange earnings to pay for increasing foreign debts. The solution was supposed to be temporary while the government was working toward building a solid domestic economy that could generate sustainable local jobs. However, the stopgap measure became a policy when the Marcos administration created laws during Martial Law that became the foundation for the government's overseas employment program. In 1974, President Ferdinand Marcos came out with Presidential Decree 442 or the Labor Code. Among its goals was âto ensure the careful selection of Filipino workers for the overseas labor market to protect the good name of the Philippines abroad." Three agencies were created to pursue this goal: (1) the National Seamen Board (NSB) that was tasked to âdevelop and maintain a comprehensive program for Filipino seamen employed overseas" (2) the Overseas Employment Development Board (OEDB) that should âpromote the overseas employment of Filipino workers through a comprehensive market and development program," and (3) the Bureau of Employment Services (BES) which is responsible for the regulation of âprivate sector participation in the recruitment of (local and overseas) workers." In 1978, Marcos signed Presidential Decree 1412 to âstrengthen the network of public employment offices and rationalize the participation of the private sector in the recruitment and placement of workers, locally and overseas." Finally, in 1982, Marcos institutionalized the deployment of Filipinos abroad through Executive Order No. 797 that turned over the functions of the OEDB, the NSB and the BES to the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA).
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