MANILA, 13 August 2004 - Vice President Noli de Castro's appointment as presidential adviser for Overseas Filipino Workers should be seen as a plus for OFWs, migrant workers advocates said yesterday.

At the same time, the overseas group Migrante-International said de Castro could prove his worth to critics and supporters alike by making it a mission to curb illegal recruitment and other problems confronting Filipino workers abroad.

Connie Bragas-Regalado, Migrante-International chairman, said the big agencies under de Castro - the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) - are faced with big problems that hound OFWs.

There have been complaints that the OWWA, an agency created to provide welfare and protection for OFWs, has itself become more of a problem to migrant workers.

"Even with the creation of the Presidential Task Force on Illegal Recruitment, we cannot say that illegal recruitment has been solved. We also challenge the vice president to look into the one-year-old OWWA Omnibus Policy, which removes direct services from the OFW," Regalado said.

She said the OWWA Omnibus Policy was the reason why 664 OFWs were recorded as having been stranded in their countries of employment for the first half of the year.

"We also have unsolved cases of human rights violations against OFWs because of the government's anti-migrant policy," added Regalado, a domestic helper for 15 years in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The OWWA Omnibus Policy grants assistance and privileges only to OFWs who paid the $25 membership fee.

However, because of illegal recruitment, those who need the government's assistance the most cannot avail of it because they did not go through the legal channels and had therefore not paid the OWWA membership fee.

Another organization, the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch, raised the question of the legality of the OWWA Omnibus Policy before the courts.

"We hope that we can discuss with him the many issues facing migrants and he can come up with resolutions on these issues that would really benefit the workers," PMRW's Carmelita Nuqui said.

Ellene Sana of the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) said they were about to ask de Castro to favor the migrant cause much as former Vice President Teofisto Guingona did.

"This is good for us although I do not really remember Noli as having been that vocal about OFW causes when he was still a senator," Sana said. "He was not even visible during the consultations for the absentee voting law."

She added that de Castro's populist stand would benefit the migrant sector as majority of OFWs came from the lower classes. De Castro was a popular broadcaster before his election to the Senate and later as vice president and had often said he wanted to be known as helping to bring the government closer to the people.

The appointment of de Castro, Sana also said, is not a departure of the traditional role of the vice president in foreign affairs matters but a redirection of the country's foreign affairs policy, which is now angled toward forwarding the protection of Filipinos abroad.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced the appointment of de Castro during a "pulong bayan" or town hall meeting with farmers, workers, and businessmen in Sta. Rosa, Laguna on Wednesday.

As presidential adviser for OFWs, de Castro will be tasked with securing the welfare of workers abroad as well as their families.

Labor officials who were present during the announcement led by Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas and OWWA director Virgilio Angelo welcomed the appointment of de Castro. They said that the vice president would be an asset in terms of highlighting the concerns of Filipinos working overseas.

"This is a welcome development given the vice president's consistent track record as an advocate of OFW's protection and welfare," Sto. Tomas said. "It further illustrates the president's commitment to elevate the welfare of the OFWs and their families to a higher level."

Sto. Tomas said that she will discuss with de Castro the operational details with regards the supervision of the activities of the POEA and the OWWA. The president had earlier said that de Castro would be in charge of overseas employment while Sto. Tomas would confine herself to local employment.

De Castro's appointment was line with the president's earlier campaign promise that de Castro would not just be a "spare tire" and would in fact be involved in governance and other critical activities that would benefit the poor.

De Castro demonstrated his concern for OFWs as principal author of the 2002 Balikbayan Law, which increased duty free privileges to $2,000 and also allowed returning OFWs additional incentives to purchase livelihood tools at the duty free shops. (Additional input from Agencies)