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| Secretary Cacdac (left) led Philippine officials in welcoming HK Labor Secretary Chris Sun (in blue suit) to the OFW Global Centre in Admiralty |
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac has disclosed plans to set up a new and bigger shelter for Filipino migrant workers in distress in Hong Kong early next year, saying the current halfway-home in Kennedy Town has outlived its usefulness.
Secretary Cacdac bared the plan during a meeting
with Filipino community leaders at Shangri-la Hotel on Sunday, and again during
a one-on-one interview with The SUN on Monday.
“We want to move out from the existing one and
provide one that can be a vibrant and dynamic place for our OFW
shelter-stayers,” said Cacdac.
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| DETAILS HERE |
The current shelter which used to be run by the
Philippine Overseas Labor Office (precursor of the current Migrant Workers
Office) is a 652 sq.-foot, three-bedroom shelter with 10 beds located in a
building on Belcher’s Street in Kennedy Town.
Before this, the Hong Kong government allowed POLO
to operate as a shelter, a rent-free, a disused post office facility in Cheung
Sha Wan which was four times the size of the Kennedy Town flat.
Cacdac said the DMW intends to raise the standard of
accommodation at the new shelter – “not ostentatious, but something that is clean,
up to standard, spacious, and can house a whole array of activities and events”
for the OFWs who are staying there.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
He said he found out that tenants at the shelter are
made to go the OFW Global Centre in Admiralty if they needed to undergo training.
This will no longer be necessary if a bigger place is found for them, he added.
Asked if he had a time frame in mind for setting up
the new shelter, Cacdac said it should be done by the first quarter of next
year.
He also said funding could be easily made available
for this purpose, since the DMW is earning enough from contract verifications.
This means that the department will not have to depend on an additional budget
allocation from the national government or Congress to get this done.
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| Secretary Sun wrote in his blog how impressed he was with the OFW Global Centre |
Cacdac also expressed satisfaction with the way
things are being run at the OFW Global Centre in Admiralty which he said impressed
even Hong Kong Labor Secretary Chris Sun when he paid a visit to the place last
Sunday.
Despite the high cost of renting the unit which
occupies the entire 18th floor of United Centre building, Cacdac
said it was money well spent, and assured that the DMW will be able to sustain the
cost of maintaining it for many years.
