OFW Party-list Rep. Marissa Magsino on Wednesday filed a resolution expressing the profound sympathy of the House of Representatives on the death of Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Maria Susana “Toots” V. Ople, and honor the legacy of the service she has left behind.
In House Resolution (HR) 1215, Magsino noted that the late Toots Ople, who passed away on August 22, was, in her lifetime, a social activist who tirelessly fought for the rights and welfare of overseas Filipino workers, as well as supported the abolition of contractualization and called for better employment opportunities for the marginalized sectors of society at the local labor front.
To further cement her advocacy, Ople founded the Blas Ople Policy Center (BOPC) – in honor of her late father, former Labor Minister and Senator Blas Ople – which assists distressed OFWs in various parts of the world, and co-anchored the popular daily radio shows Bantay OFW and Global Pinoy.
In 2004, she was appointed as Undersecretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) by former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and in 2022, was appointed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. as the first Secretary of the newly-created DMW.
HR 1215 said Ople’s untimely demise is a great loss to the Filipino people and to the thousands of lives she touched in her long and illustrious career as an advocate of social justice, as a dedicated public servant, and as a champion of Filipino migrant workers.
In filing the resolution, Magsino said she had known Toots Ople even before their respective stints in public service and holds her in high esteem because of her full commitment to service, and integrity in leading her organization, especially when she became secretary of DMW.
The Department of National Defense (DND) meanwhile expressed its condolences to Ople’s family and friends.
“On behalf of the men and women of the Department of National Defense, as well as my family, I convey my heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathies to the family, colleagues, friends and constituents of my beloved friend, Secretary Susan ‘Toots’ Vasquez Ople, who passed away, Aug. 22, 2023,” Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. said in a statement Tuesday evening.
He also called Ople’s appointment as the very first secretary of the DMW a huge blessing to the nation.