DMW eyes 13 new offices abroad – BusinessWorld Online
THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Monday said that it is looking to open 13 new migrant worker offices abroad by next year, in a bid to further expand its service to overseas Filipino workers (OFW).
“We are aiming to open 13 by next year, but I will be conservative and say that we could open about seven to eight,” Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac told a Senate budget hearing, without providing specific locations.
He added that the agency is looking to open three overseas offices by the end of 2025, namely in Cambodia, Guam, and Vietnam.
Mr. Cacdac said that the DMW is aiming to place migrant worker offices in countries where the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is present.
“We must cover where the foreign service posts are, meaning, where the DFA is we need to be there too,” he added.
Asked by Senator Erwin T. Tulfo if the offices were enough to support all OFWs working abroad, the DMW chief answered in the affirmative.
“In terms of volume it is enough, we’ve really hit the places where there are a lot of OFWs, mainly Middle East and Asia,” Mr. Cacdac said.
The DMW has about 42 migrant worker offices in 31 countries where there is a large number of OFWs. — Adrian H. Halili