Instead of pressing its people to leave their homes and families to look for better opportunities abroad, Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II said that a Binay presidency would provide better job opportunities to encourage overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to stay in the Philippines.
“Madalas siya (Vice President Jejomar Binay, former presidential adviser on OFW concerns) ay out of the country, nakikiusap, nagmamanhik-luhod doon sa mga pamahalaan ng biktima, nasa death row malalaman na lang natin. Aalis, punung-puno ng pag-asa, malusog. Malungkot dahil naiwan ‘yong pamilya. Pagbalik nasa kabaong. How do we protect them?” the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) candidate for vice president told 95.1 Kiss FM Lucena.
Honasan said that while improving government support and making legal assistance available to OFWs was also a top priority these were “short-term” solution to the problem of unemployment and underemployment in the country.
“Ang long-term vision namin, ibalik ang lahat ng OFWs sa ating bansa. Iuwi natin sila. Give them a choice. Pipiliin nila na dito na lang. We fight here together, we face challenges here together,” said Honasan.
The senator made this statement as massive layoffs loomed for Middle East-based OFWs due to the as the prices of oil per barrel continue to drop.
Earlier, Migrante-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia earlier said that some 50,000 OFWs from Bin Laden Co., one of the biggest contractors for construction and industrial projects, would be affected by the Saudi government’s mass layoffs and austerity measures.
“Ano ba ang contingency plans natin? Maraming male-lay off dahil sa fluctuating prices of oil. Uuwi (sila) rito, ano ang daratnan nila? ‘Yon po ang iniisip at pinag-uusapan namin,” Honasan, who reiterated that the next administration has no time to waste and must immediately act on the pressing problems of the nation.
As crime czar of a Binay administration, Gringo Honasan would focus on peace and order and security issues, one of these being security for OFWs.
Part of the Binay administration’s plans is to increase job opportunities in the country, mainly the sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, business process outsourcing and export. It has also planned tax reforms, one of which is the move to abolish income tax for workers earning P30,000 and below.