IMAGE: Daniella Agacer
MANILA, Philippines — OFW party-list Rep Marissa Magsino on Tuesday filed a bill seeking to declare Dec. 18 every year as “Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFWs) Day” in the country.
Magsino filed House Bill No. 7903 citing the United Nations General Assembly’s Dec. 18, 1990 adoption of a resolution on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families which also resulted in the proclamation of Dec. 18 as International Migrants Day.
Her proposed measure would declare Dec. 18 as a special working holiday in the Philippines.
According to Magsino, overseas workers are our modern-day heroes for a very good reason: “Their financial contribution through remittances offers a lifeline to families and spurs local markets as well as the national economy.”
Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, there are around 1.8 million OFWs worldwide.
Magsino noted that, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, OFW remittances helped keep the national economy afloat, with the migrant workers sending in US$34.884 billion in 2021.