RIYADH, 17 October — President Gloria Arroyo has signed a proclamation making it a regular practice for the government to honor outstanding employers Overseas Filipinos Workers (OFWs), a report by the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) has said.
Proclamation No. 270 institutionalizes the International Employers Awards (IEA) to honor foreign employers, principals, and companies who have promoted the employment of OFWs and advanced their interest and welfare, said the PNA report released by the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh yesterday.
Arroyo’s proclamation created the International Awards Committee to administer the conferment of the awards on deserving employers.
Chairing the committee will be the secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), with members to include the administrators of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA), and a representative of land-based industry associations.
Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas had earlier said the first awardees would be announced at the opening of a two-day international gathering at the Manila Peninsula in Makati next month.
The president ordered the awards committees to “immediately organize itself and prescribe the rules to the outstanding employers awards.”
In signing Proclamation No. 270, the president had said that the continued employment of OFWs abroad “would not have been possible without the indispensable cooperation of foreign companies, principals, employers, and overseas employment providers (OEPs) who continue to recognize the proficiency, competence and skills of the Filipino workers.”
President Arroyo, according to the PNA report, said that her administration has already recognized the vital role both being played by the OFWs and OEPs, including their contribution in uplifting the lives of OFW families and in boosting the country’s economic development.
The IEA is the counterpart of the Bagong Bayani (new hero) Award given out to OFWs each year. The government had also declared year 2000 as the “Year of OFWs.” Year 2002 was declared as the year of placement and manning agencies.
