Ople’s death great loss to migrant workers – Marcos

President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. teary eyed during his Eulogy for the late Migrant Workers Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople | PHOTO: Yummie Dingding/ PPA POOL

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said the country lost a migrant workers’ champion with the passing of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople, and that the position she left is too large to fill.

“It’s a big loss for me, for all of you, and for the Philippines,” the President, his voice breaking, said in his remarks at the necrological service for the late secretary at Kalayaan Hall in Malacañang, which was aired on state television.

“And if I do shed a tear, it is because it is such a sad day to know that Toots will not be here anymore and what a big gap she will leave not only to our friends, not only to our family but to the millions of those who she took care of, who she loved, and who she worked for tirelessly and endlessly,” Mr. Marcos said.

Ople’s remains arrived at Kalayaan Hall at around 9:30 a.m. She was given military honors, after which a Mass was celebrated, attended by the President, Vice President Sara Duterte, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, other government officials and members of the Ople family led by her daughter Estelle Osorio and longtime partner Fort Jose.

In his remarks, the President recounted that he had prayed for a miracle that the cancer-stricken Ople would somehow recover, adding, “If anyone deserves the miracle, it was Toots for all the good that she did.”

A few days after the secretary died, however, Mr. Marcos said he realized that it was Ople’s life of service to the country and the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that was the miracle.

“When I heard the news that she’s gone, I told myself we were denied, there was no miracle. But in the next few days, I thought, no, I was wrong. A miracle really did occur. The miracle was Toots. It was a miracle that she lived and became our friend and she was able to do the most important things that she can for herself and for fellow individuals,” he said.

The President said he respected Ople for her professionalism, diligence and love for Filipinos. He said Ople brought compassion and passion in her work, which he described as a “rare combination.”

His friendship with Ople, he said, dates back when he was a senator, with the late secretary working with him concerning OFWs’ welfare, Ople’s lifelong advocacy.

Ople, 61, died on Tuesday after battling cancer. INQ