Labor attaches’ term extended

LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has extended the tour of duty of labor attaches from three to five years to allow them to make full use of their experience in serving overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in different parts of the world.

“The term of a labor attache is three years. So I came up with an order making it five years because a labor attache needs at least two years to get well versed in the environment. If he is recalled after three years, he can’t make full use of his experience, so I made it five years,” Bello said, adding that the new policy applies to all Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) officers.

Administrative Order (AO) 509, signed by Bello, amended Section 77 of AO 168, series of 2013, or the manual of operations, policies and guidelines for the Polo.

The amendment said, “The tour of duty of regular labor attaches shall be for a period five years, subject to performance evaluation, commencing on the date of his/her arrival at the post.”

“After their tour of duty, labor attaches shall serve in the home office for two years except when their early deployment is deemed necessary in the exigency of the service. The tour of duty of welfare officers shall be for five years, subject to performance evaluation, after which, they shall return to their respective units,” it added. —TINA G. SANTOS