A coalition of 35 organizations and 21 experts from the academe backed Vice President Leni Robredo’s presidential bid, giving her a perfect score for education plans anchored on data-driven, and fact-based research and monitoring of platforms and track records.
The so-called Education Nation gave Robredo 10 out of 10 or a perfect score for her plans to solve the education woes.
@OnePBEd said Robredo is the county’s “Education President.”
“Leni Robredo is the only candidate with a detailed strategy to take us out of this mess,” Philippine Business for Education Policy and Advocacy manager Marco de los Reyes said.
Education Nation said only “one candidate stood out by showing a brand of leadership that makes education a priority.”
“In our analysis of the candidates’ platforms, only the vice president has presented a clear plan to stem the crisis outlined in her Kalayaan sa Kakulangan sa Edukasyon platform,” Delos Reyes said.
Robredo’s running mate Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan meanwhile made a firm commitment to provide better protection and social security benefits to land-based and sea-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in a covenant he and Robredo signed with the sector.
In signing the covenant, Pangilinan hailed anew the OFWs’ hard work to give their families better lives. OFW remittances have also kept the economy afloat despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pangilinan said he supports the creation of migrant resource centers especially in the provinces “to make integrated and efficient migration services available in communities for OFWs and their families.”
The covenant also seeks “ICT (information and communications technology) to communities; to empower families to participate in migration governance; to ensure air and ethical recruitment; to prevent abuses, violence, trafficking or illegal recruitment; to allow reporting and access to justice remedies; and to help them plan and realize employment, skills development, and reintegration.”
OFWs also want the full implementation of Republic Act 11641 which created the Department of Migrant Workers Act to allow them to access government services and support.
Each local government unit should also have a Migration and Development Committee, Migrant Resource Centers, and OFWs help desks for quick and effective response to OFW needs.
The covenant also calls to expand the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Trust Fund and use this to develop a national provident savings and reintegration fund for OFWs.
“This is an essential part of reintegration preparedness and serves as a safety net in times of crisis such job loss, untimely return, health and other emergencies,” the covenant states.
OFWs also pushed for their social security rights in countries where they work through bilateral labor agreements and social security agreements.
The covenant seeks a “recalibration” of the overseas deployment program by ensuring that OFWs will be deployed only to countries where their rights and welfare are guaranteed by national laws.
Earlier, Pangilinan presented a program that encourages OFWs to venture into agriculture after they retire.