DoLE engages NGO to teach values to OFWs, family

MANILA, Philippines - In pursuit of its goal to fully reintegrate returning Filipino workers into the mainstream, the Labor department has engaged the services of a non-government organization to provide values formation programs for OFWs and members of their families. Labor Secretary Arturo Brion signed a memorandum of agreement with Jose Tayag, chairman of Tekton Guild/ Tekton Foundations, Inc. for the development and implementation of training programs on values formation, skills enhancement, and capacity building courses for returning OFWs. The programs will be under the auspices of the National Reintegration Center for OFWs of the Department of Labor and Employment. NRCO is a one-stop center offering various reintegration services for OFWs and members of their families. The center also serves as a "service networking hub," facilitating the delivery of services by cooperating stakeholders/service providers that intend to address the migrants' and their families' needs, including the development of their communities. Tekton is affiliated with the Church-based Couples for Christ that is engaged in socio-economic ministry. Brion said the service agreement with Tekton underscores the importance of developing among the OFWs and their families the values of self-discipline and frugality to enable them appreciate the need to save and put their earnings in productive undertakings. Helping the OFWs manage and sustain their incomes so that their earnings from overseas work won't go to waste is a prime concern of the NRCO, he said. As an initial activity, the NRCO and Tekton have scheduled a series of seminars on moral values that begun on Monday. The seminars would subsequently become a regular activity as a component of the language courses that the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration conducts for OFWs. Under the NRCO-Tekton agreement, a joint coordinating committee will be organized to develop and implement the strategic actions plans. A special action team will also be constituted to provide the necessary intervention and attend to public queries and welfare services in times of crisis. - GMANews.TV