The government of Philippines has renewed interest to bring back Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to the country, particularly teachers. The Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Education (DepEd) Philippines have joined forces to bring back LET passer OFWs to the country, by reserving 300 regular Teacher 1 positions.
Through the convergence program, “Sa Pinas, Ikaw ang Ma’am/Sir”, which started in 2014, Dexter Paro, the regional coordinator of the National Reintegration Center for Overseas Filipino Workers (NRCO), was quoted by the Filipino Times “OFW LET-passers, whether they have teaching experience or not, are in a more advantageous position than their counterparts in the Philippines because they no longer have to follow the DepEd ranking system.”
As per the traditional hiring practices followed for recruitment of teachers, the applicants are assessed based on factors such as their academic achievement, special training and skills, teaching experience, communication skills, demonstrative teaching interviews, special training and educational qualifications.
Speaking at one of the press conferences recently held, Paro made a mention that some of the teachers in Philippines are working as domestic helpers abroad.
Through this program, the government aims to bring back the teaching talent back to the country, reverse out migration by enhancing their skills and providing them with options to stay in Philippines and work as teachers to educate and groom the talent for competitive workplaces of tomorrow.
As per the initiative, OFW LET-passers are required to take an online refresher course crafted by the Philippine National University. However, the applicants first have to visit the DOLE regional office and fill out an online application form. Till date, Paro reportedly said 190 positions have been filled. This means, there are 110 more OFW teachers are needed.
In another effort by the Philippine government to save OFWs facing death penalty abroad, the country is on second thoughts about revival of the capital punishment and death penalty in Philippines.
Buhay Representative Lito Atienza reportedly said that based on data from the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are currently at least 88 Filipinos facing the death penalty abroad – mostly in Malaysia and China – for various crimes.
Malaysia is one of the top 10 destinations of OFWs, based on data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Other top OFW destinations include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Qatar, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Taiwan, Bahrain and Canada, said the news portal.
Of these 10, only Canada and Hong Kong have abolished the death penalty. Since the death penalty in Philippines was removed already long-time ago, the Philippines government has great moral authority to invoke humanitarian grounds and implore foreign governments to show mercy on Filipino citizens who are suppose to face death penalty abroad.
