MANILA, 4 July 2006 — The reins of the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) were handed over to incoming Secretary Arturo Brion yesterday morning and he said his administration would continue to promote the hiring of Filipino workers overseas.
In ceremonies witnessed by DOLE employees, Brion also said the department would focus on anti-illegal recruitment.
“We can still fine tune all our efforts against illegal recruitment,” Brion said, explaining that he would continue with anti-illegal recruitment programs begun by outgoing Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas.
In fact, he said his administration would continue with the plans and programs started by Sto. Tomas “with some fine-tuning and new initiatives.”
He said he would try to meet the employment target of one million jobs a year.
“On overseas employment, we will focus on marketing, marketing, marketing. That’s why we will talk with our labor attaches and the Department of Foreign Affairs,” said Brion, who was also undersecretary for special concerns at the foreign office.
Among Brion’s initiatives is the policy of dispute avoidance. He said he was preparing a department circular that would allow for intervention of ongoing or potential disputes not yet filed with the department.
