MANILA, 1 August — Amid endless complaints from distressed Filipino workers abroad, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is attempting concrete steps to reorient its foreign policy to address the actual needs of the more than six million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

"There is a need to emphasize that the protection of migrant workers is an integral part of foreign policy," Undersecretary Merlin Magallona of the DFA's Office of the Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers Affairs (OLAMWA) told Arab News.

In an interview, Magallona disclosed that the current thrust of the DFA is to make Philippine embassy and consulate workers more responsive to the needs of OFWs following President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's recent admission that the Philippine economy was not ready to absorb migrant workers back to the Philippines.

With the Philippine economy still bad shape, officials said more Filipinos are likely to seek jobs abroad to be able to provide their families with better financial opportunities. Already, Records at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) indicated that OFWs placements increased by 1.5 percent in the first five months of this year.

Magallona deplored reports that most Filipino migrant workers have stop going to the Philippine embassies for assistance "because the embassy personnel not take care of their problems."

"There is evidence of dissatisfaction on the part of migrant workers," Magallona revealed. "The complaint is that the services of our diplomatic posts do not reach them."

He said he was basing his assessment on written complaints from Filipino workers and from his own personal observations during inspection trips abroad.

Magallona, a former law dean of the University of the Philippines, was appointed to the DFA so he can use his expertise in international law in handling legal cases involving OFWs.

Magallona said one of the measures the DFA is undertaking is a review of the proposed amendments to the Foreign Service Act which were submitted to Congress by then Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr.

The Foreign Service Act, Magallona explained, was enacted during the administration of then President Diosdado Macapagal, father of the present president, some 30 years ago.

"At that time, how many lawyers could we send aboard. Now we have almost 7 million Filipinos abroad. If you have in mind the normal diplomatic facilities can take of Filipino presence, my view is these diplomatic facilities have broken down," he said.

He cited the example of the three OFWs in Jeddah who allegedly sent hate messages to Ambassador Rafael Seguis. Instead of dealing with the matter internally, Seguis reported the matter to the Saudi police and the three Filipinos were jailed and eventually deported.

Magallona said he recognized the insufficiency of diplomatic facilities to help OFWs, but added, "we should begin with the personnel attitude in diplomatic posts."

Magallona, a former political activist, was brought into the DFA by Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona. He replaced former Benjamin Domingo, who resigned on March 31 to run in the party-list elections last May 14.