MANILA, 18 July — Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia, dubbed by his rivals as the most “promising” aspirant for the House of Representatives’ speakership, indeed has a long list of promises to do once he succeeds in getting the post he once held.
The good thing is that he has not left out the migrant workers,’ according to former OFW Sectoral Representative Isidro Aligada.
De Venecia has made the commitment to create an Oversight Center for OFW Affairs to look into the concerns of Overseas Filipino Workers, said Aligada, who was once an OFW based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
De Venecia explained that the center should make up for the absence of an OFW representative in the present Congress as none of the party-list parties representing the sector garnered any seat in the last election.
According to Aligada, the Oversight Center will be tasked with gathering data needed for the drafting of the proposed bill that will grant absentee voting to OFWs; look into complaints involving mandatory medical examinations for job seekers bound for the Middle East, and propose legislation that will give OFWs access to investments and livelihood programs, retirement and insurance benefits, business and housing opportunities in the Philippines.
During De Venecia’s term as speaker, the absentee voting bill reached third reading in the House but was shelved in the Senate when then Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, who was head of the Electoral Reforms committee, “sat on” the bill.
In an interview with Arab News, Aligada said he was convinced that de Venecia was sincere in his intentions to help the over six million OFWs. “De Venecia has the interests of the OFW at heart.”
Aligada said, noting that the Magna Carta for OFWs was signed into law in 1995 when de Venecia was House speaker.
De Venecia also played a key role in the enactment of the law exempting OFWs from paying income taxes to the Philippine government for income earned abroad.
Last month, he met with the various groups claiming to represent OFWs to solicit their endorsement for his speakership bid.
De Venecia is favored over his nearest rival, Batanes Rep. Florencio “Butch” Abad.
