BANGUED, Abra (PIA) – The Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO) brought its Community Education Program (CEP) to Abra to help communities make more informed decisions about migrating or settling abroad.
“Nandito po kami sa Abra for a week because we are conducting a community education program about migration and human trafficking. Ito po ay para malaman ng publiko kung ano yung mga realities of migration and para magkaroon sila ng well-informed decision bago sila mag-abroad,” CFO Senior Emigrant Services Officer Eumarlo Tolosa said.
He added that the education program focused on students as prospective migrants who are planning to go abroad after their graduation. He said that the CEP is one of the platforms to give potential migrants informed decisions.
“Ang paga-abroad po ay hindi para sa mga feint-hearted. Dapat po kapag aalis kayo ng Pilipinas, buo dapat ang loob ninyo and alam ninyo ang pros and cons ng pag-alis ng Pilipinas,” Tolosa emphasized.
He shared that the CEP also aims to brief prospective migrants of the different processes, programs, policies of the government to protect Filipinos who are planning to go abroad or permanently reside outside the Philippines.
This includes informing clients of the different agencies where they need to register to avail of the different benefits, checking if recruitment agencies are legitimate, and participating in pre-departure services among others.
In the Cordillera, Abra is second among the provinces with the highest number of Filipinos who are living outside the country.
“From 2007-2021, we registered 5,700 Filipino permanent residents na umalis na po sa Abra and pumunta po sa ibang bansa. Within Abra po, number one po ang Bangued for the registrants with 2,147 permanent residents,” Tolosa reported.
He also shared that Abra is also second in the number of Filipinos who married foreigners and are now living with their foreign partners abroad. The province recorded at least 420 registrants from 2017-2020.
The Commission on Filipino Overseas headed by Secretary Romulo Arugay is an attached agency of the Office of the President that serves the interests and rights of Filipinos overseas.
“Ang kliyente po naming ay itong mga Filipino permanent residents or those with immigrant visas and also the spouses or partners of foreign nationals,” Tolosa explained.
CFO Emigrant Services Officer II John Nichols Ruelos added that aside from promoting the welfare of overseas Filipinos, the commission also aims to strengthen the ties of Filipinos living abroad with the Motherland.
“Ang opisina din po ay isa sa mga agencies that creates programs para ma-maintain yung connection ng mga kababayan natin abroad na kahit nasa ibang bansa sila is they can still be connected,” he said.
The CFO is also a member of the Interagency Council Against Trafficking which protects Filipinos against trafficking and illegal recruitment.
“If may mga concerns about trafficking and illegal recruitment, isa kami sa mga agencies na nilalapitan and isa din po kami sa mga nagha-handle sa tinatawag natin na 1343 action line against human trafficking,” Ruelos added. (JJPM-PIA Abra)
