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| Admin Ignacio and USec Bay (middle) receive appreciation certificates from Filcom leaders |
At least two more recreational centers for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will be opened soon, according to Administrator Arnell Ignacio of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Speaking at the “Thanksgiving and Dedication” service
for the Department of Migrant Workers-OWWA OFW Global Center in Hong Kong this
morning, Ignacio mentioned Taiwan and Malaysia as the next overseas posts that
will have the leisure and training facility for OFWs.
He said “marami
pa” (there will be more), when asked how many OFW centers are in the
pipeline, even while admitting that the Hong Kong center, the first of its kind to
be built outside of the Philippines, was “mahal” (expensive).
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
In a previous interview, the OWWA chief told The SUN
that the center, whose 20,000 square-foot space occupies the entire 18th
floor of United Centre Building in Admiralty, was going to cost the government HK$8
million a year, or roughly Php5 million a month in rent alone.
Extra budget is needed to run the center, which will be open five times a week, as OFWs who drop in can avail of "unlimited" free coffee and sandwiches or cookies.
It was set up close on the heels of the opening of
the OFW lounges at Terminals 1 and 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport
in Manila, which Ignacio also spearheaded, with funding coming from the
national budget.
The Hong Kong centre which was formally opened in November last year, will have its “grand opening” next month, when DMW Secretary Hans J. Cacdac will lead the rites. Today’s event, said Ignacio, was just a “patikim” (foretaste) of that bigger ceremony.
The OWWA chief was in town for another purpose – to bring
the machine that was immediately put to use to process and print the e-cards of
OFWs in Hong Kong. Previously, the physical cards could only be obtained at the
OFW lounges at NAIA or at a designated branch of DMW and OWWA.
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| USec Bay said center is recognition of OFWs' resilience, sacrifices and dedication |
Also at the ceremony was DMW Undersecretary
Felicitas Bay, who said the center was being dedicated to OFWs as a sign of the
government’s recognition of their “resilience, sacrifices and boundless
dedication.”
“Today history has changed and our modern-day heroes will no longer have to endure the challenges of resting on crowded public spaces that expose them to unnecessary discomfort and grief,” USec Bay said.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
She added that during a visit to Hong Kong in 2023 she, along with the late Consul General Raly Tejada and another official of the Department
of Foreign Affairs went around and saw how OFWs were spending their days-off
hanging out in open areas around the city, though “masaya naman sila.”
Bay said the center was a symbol that the government
will always ensure the wellbeing of OFWs. It is where “safety, dignity and
bayanihan converge,” she added.
As she spoke, about 1,000 OFWs (a tiny fraction of the 120,000 Filipino migrant worker population in Hong Kong) gathered in various rooms at the center, either to listen to the speeches, secure e-cards, attend training sessions, or partake of the free coffee and biscuits on offer.
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| About 1,000 OFWs packed the center for the ceremony and other activities |
Both Ignacio and Bay thanked the Philippine Consulate General, especially former Consul General Germinia A. Usudan who returned to the DFA head office last month, for securing approval for the center from the Hong Kong government.
Acting Consul General Sheila M. Arnesto said the DFA
has always given priority to assisting Filipino nationals abroad, so helping set up the OFW center was equally important to them.
Flying in for the ceremony were other top officials of the DMW, OWWA and the Department of Budget and Management.
