DMW chief optimistic OFW hiring will pick up this year

THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Friday expressed optimism that demand for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) would pick up this year, surpassing last year’s deployment of 1.2 million.

Meanwhile, the country has already deployed more than one-half of the maximum annual allocation of nurses overseas during the first five months of the year.

In the same interview, Ople said the Philippines has been granted the Tier 1 ranking in the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report, signifying an improvement in addressing the problem of human exploitation.

“We are not just on track, but we definitely will surpass the deployment figures of last year,” DMW Secretary Susan Ople told CNN Philippines.

“We see an increase in the number of our OFWs, both new hires and rehires, and also we are looking at a rebound in the number of seafarers being hired abroad.”

Ople said from January to April alone, some 800,000 land-based and sea-based OFWs were landed jobs abroad, mostly in the areas of healthcare, construction, and hotel and restaurant management in countries like Saudi Arabia and Croatia.

Other nations like the UAE, and Canada have a big demand for medical professionals, she added.

Ople also said more countries such

Merger doubles bid to P210b for NAIA rehab

as Hungary and Oman have indicated their willingness to enter into bilateral labor agreements with the Philippines.

Ople earlier said they expect the volume of deployed OFWs to hit pre-pandemic levels in 2023, with the total number seen to reach the two-million mark.

While there is a demand for Filipino workers, especially for nurses, Ople said she wants to have a dialogue with relevant agencies to come up with solutions on how to encourage these professionals to work in the Philippines.

“It will take a whole of government, whole of society approach,” Ople said.

“To stay here would be the most attractive choice because their families are here… We need to create opportunities for them to stay and look at quality of life issues.”

By Joel E. Zurbano and Darwin Amojelar

A CONSORTIUM of large real estate developers has doubled its offer from P100 billion to P210 billion not only to rehabilitate but also modernize the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Meanwhile, the country’s flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Friday started operating its international flights at the NAIA Terminal 1 as part of the airport authority’s Schedule and Terminal Assignment Rationalization (STAR) program to optimize the capacity of the four NAIA terminals.

The P210-billion unsolicited proposal came from the Manila International Airport Consortium (MIAC), composed of Aboitiz InfraCapital, AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation, Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp, Alliance Global – Infracorp Development, Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corp., and Global Infrastructure Partners.

“The construction firmly believes that NAIA needs rehabilitation and introduction of new operating procedures and new technologies as soon as possible and our unsolicited proposal is the fastest route towards providing comfortable and efficient international gateway for the passengers now, which the Filipinos deserve and now,” Aboitiz Infracapital Inc. president and chief executive officer Cosette Canilao told ANC.

The MIAC said the increase in its offer was based on new studies, including the projected growth in flight traffic to about 55 million passengers annually from the 48 million pre-pandemic level.

TINGOG party-list and the Office of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Thursday spearheaded the distribution of relief items to fire victims in Ormoc City.

At least 346 individuals from 72 families in a resettlement village have received mosquito blankets, slippers, towels, toiletries, and other primary necessities.

The fire incident happened last Wednesday evening, a day before the fiesta celebration of Barangay Danao where the village was situated.

The recipients were also victims of the July 2017 quake that hit Ormoc, City, and its nearby municipalities, taking the lives of two residents and leaving multi-million pesos worth of damages in infrastructure. Maricel V. Cruz

“There is a real need to implement these comprehensive changes the soonest time possible and our proposal is you know is based on that new studies,” Canilao said.