Marcos vows retraining program for returning OFWs

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has assured the public that the government is doing everything it can to help returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who had lost their jobs abroad for various reasons.

Marcos said the government has programs to reintegrate displaced OFWs into the local workforce.

“That's been going on for a while. It really was born in the time of the pandemic when many of our OFWs were sent home for health and safety reasons,” Marcos said in a press briefing in Brunei Darussalam Wednesday.

“As a matter of fact, we will do the training. But we have to be in partnership with the government. And government provides incentives, provides better opportunities for our workers so that they learn new skills and that are relevant to the modern, post-pandemic economy,” he added. “We had to find jobs for the OFWs that had come back."

He cited the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), a program for workers who lost their jobs, as well as the available courses and programs at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) that will help in retraining, upskilling and reskilling OFWs.

“And not only our OFWs, our working population in the Philippines [too]. And TESDA, that's why TESDA has suddenly grown,” Marcos said.

The government also allotted a bigger budget to absorb displaced or retired OFWs who still like to work in the Philippines, Marcos said.

“So, they had to come home. And so, we provide support to them. We provide outright support in the meantime and at the same time there are livelihood programs that are available to them, both under DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) and TESDA,” the President said.

Marcos concluded his two-day state visit in Brunei on Wednesday afternoon with strengthened bilateral relations, pronounced by a number of agreements for cooperation on key areas such as tourism, agriculture, seafaring and maritime security.

He also met with the Filipino community there and personally thanked them for their sacrifices and dedication to supporting their family and the country. (PNA)