ANGELES CITY – The welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) and local laborers will be on the top agenda of senatorial candidate Susan “Toots” Ople of the Nationalista Party (NP).
In an interview with reporters yesterday, Ople said that she would work for the passage of laws ensuring the protection of workers in the country and abroad.
“Labor contracts lasting for about five months must be stopped. It’s nowhere in the labor code,” said Ople, youngest child of the late former Senator Blas Ople who died of heart ailment as foreign affairs secretary on December 12, 2003.
“The use of labor contracting is no longer an exception. It has become the rule, an abused one at that,” added Ople, who worked extensively with her father in the Senate and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Ople said she would also urge the installation of permanent legal advisers and social workers in countries where there are several OFWs.
She added that there had been instances when OFWs were jailed and abused but it could have been avoided if the government installed the said advisers and workers.
Ople, a native of Hagonoy, Bulacan, is the president of Blas F. Ople Center, a non-governmental organization which assists OFWs with their legal cases filed by them or against them. The columnist of Panorama Magazine disclosed that the Ople Center also give free computer lessons to OFW and shoes to public school students.
Ople joined the slate of NP presidential candidate Sec. Manny Villar.
In an interview with reporters yesterday, Ople said that she would work for the passage of laws ensuring the protection of workers in the country and abroad.
“Labor contracts lasting for about five months must be stopped. It’s nowhere in the labor code,” said Ople, youngest child of the late former Senator Blas Ople who died of heart ailment as foreign affairs secretary on December 12, 2003.
“The use of labor contracting is no longer an exception. It has become the rule, an abused one at that,” added Ople, who worked extensively with her father in the Senate and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Ople said she would also urge the installation of permanent legal advisers and social workers in countries where there are several OFWs.
She added that there had been instances when OFWs were jailed and abused but it could have been avoided if the government installed the said advisers and workers.
Ople, a native of Hagonoy, Bulacan, is the president of Blas F. Ople Center, a non-governmental organization which assists OFWs with their legal cases filed by them or against them. The columnist of Panorama Magazine disclosed that the Ople Center also give free computer lessons to OFW and shoes to public school students.
Ople joined the slate of NP presidential candidate Sec. Manny Villar.
