MANILA, Philippines – Longtime overseas Filipino workers’ rights advocate Susan “Toots” Ople will take the helm of the newly-created Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Marcos won the overseas Filipinos’ vote, as did his running mate and now vice president-elect Sara Duterte. It will be under Marcos’ watch that the DMW will be set up, since it is only in the 2023 national budget that this department will receive its first allocation. (LIST: Who are in Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet?)
What can the Marcos presidency do for OFW rights and welfare? How can the new department address deep-seated and long-simmering issues like corrupt recruitment agencies, abusive employers, and the red tape that migrant workers often have to go through to make a living?
Rappler senior reporter Pia Ranada asks Ople these questions and more in a Rappler Talk episode starting 5 pm on Monday, May 30. – Rappler.com
Read this related story from the interview: