Moreno vows to enter bilateral accords for OFW protection if he wins

CEBU CITY, Cebu —Presidential candidate and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno on Saturday vowed to enter bilateral agreements with other countries to protect overseas Filipino workers if he becomes president. 

The Aksyon Demokratiko frontrunner made the remark when asked about the case of a Filipino woman who was found dead inside a suitcase in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“It seems that we are in the right direction. It’s high time for us to enter into any bilateral labor agreement [with] countries na wala tayong (countries that we have no) agreement,” Moreno said in a chance interview.

Moreno said it is high time for the country to enter bilateral agreements with Saudi.

“Na bigyan ng proteksyon sa mata ng batas, and other services, while our fellow Filipinos is working for them. Na katulad nyan so anong proteksyon maibibigay natin sa kanila? Wala naman silang ibang tatakbuhan,” he said.

(That we should give them protection in the eyes of the law, and other services, while our fellow Filipinos are working for them. The same protection that we give to them. Our countrymen have nowhere to run.)

When asked if he will follow the footsteps of President Rodrigo Duterte and place a temporary ban on the deployment of Filipinos in certain countries, Moreno reiterated that he will enter bilateral agreements with other countries.

“‘Yun ang gagawin ko (that I will do). I will enter into bilateral labor agreement,” he said.

He also said the government must put good, able, and skilled individuals in Philippine Overseas Labor Offices and embassies.

Further, he said the government must have a plan to integrate returning OFWs.

“In my case I already said it, two things, they want to go back into farming, then DA (Department of Agriculture) should make assistance for our returnees, OFW, for integration into our society,” he said. —LBG, GMA News