Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Because overseas Filipino workers are the country’s best faces to the world, the Department of Labor and Employment has ordered the crafting of a new orientation module on Filipino values for OFWs.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the module would be used in the pre-departure orientation seminar (PDOS) given OFWs to instill in them such values as love of country and loyalty to it.
“Our overseas workers are the best assets we have outside our shores. They are our ambassadors of goodwill and, therefore, they should act and be ready to act as such wherever they are in the world,” said Baldoz in a statement.
With the new PDOS module, Baldoz said, OFWs, including seafarers, household service workers and low-skilled workers will all be professional in the way they dress, talk and conduct themselves.
The module would also showcase the richness and beauty of the Philippines and its wealth of history and culture, she said.
National pride
“It is not only work, work and work that our OFWs need to be able to show and demonstrate [their pride]. They must learn to be articulate when telling the Philippine story and expressive of national pride, particularly now that the country is experiencing a socioeconomic resurgence,” Baldoz said.
Baldoz instructed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to develop the module in consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“Once the module is finished, we will request the assistance of the DFA in training trainors for it, and afterward require all PDOS providers to use it as a mandatory subject,” said Baldoz.
She also instructed Owwa to consult with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the National Historical Commission for input on Philippine history and culture.
“The OFWs can in turn share this knowledge with the people of other nationalities,” she said.