President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a law creating the Office for Social Welfare Attache for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Duterte signed the law on April 17, 2019 but a copy of which was given to media on Monday (July 15).
Under the law, “the Department of Social Welfare Development (DSWD) shall deploy Social Welfare Attaches in countries with large concentration of OFWs as determined in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)”.
“The Social Welfare Attache shall possess the minimum qualifications set by the Civil Service Commission and the preferred qualifications prescribed by the DSWD,” it added.
The Social Welfare Attache should also have functions and duties such as managing cases of OFWs and other overseas Filipinos in distress needing psychosocial services.
It will also undertake surveys and prepare official social welfare situationers on OFWs in the area of assignment, and establish a network with overseas-based social welfare agencies.
Moreover, the official should also respond to and monitor the resolution of problems and complaints or queries of OFWs and their families; establish and maintain a data bank and documentation of OFWs and their families; submit regular reports to the DSWD and DFA home office among others. (Azer Parrocha/PNA)
