President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has named TV and movie personality Arnaldo Arevalo “Arnell” Ignacio as head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), in place of Hans Leo Cacdac, Malacañang announced on Wednesday.
“We confirm the appointment of Mr. Ignacio as Executive Director Administrator V of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration,” Press Secretary Beatrix “Trixie” Cruz-Angeles said in a statement.
Before being named as OWWA administrator, Ignacio served as OWWA deputy administrator under former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018, but resigned in February 2019, citing “personal reasons.”
“He was reappointed in September of last year to the same post and will now occupy the position of Administrator, vice Hans Cacdac who will be serving as Usec (Undersecretary) of DMW (Department of Migrant Workers) on Welfare and Foreign Employment,” she said.
Meanwhile, the President also designated Mary Melanie Quiño and Emma Sinclair as Deputy Administrators.
Cruz-Angeles meanwhile said Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) head Bernard Olalia would serve as the agency’s officer in charge (OIC).
“POEA Admin. Bernard Olalia will be Usec. for Licensing and Adjudication. He will be the OIC of POEA until such time that the department is deemed fully constituted on the approval of the 2023 budget,” she said.
Cruz-Angeles said Venecio Legaspi, a former OFW, has also been appointed as assistant secretary for reintegration.
“For reintegration, a former OFW for 29 years—Venecio Legaspi, who worked for several years in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has been appointed. He rose from the ranks to assume the post of vice president in a prominent Saudi Bank,” Cruz-Angeles said.
With the appointment of key officials that will comprise the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople said the agency will now become a home for overseas Filipino workers as well as their families.
Cacdac, who has been in DOLE and OWWA for a total of 21 years, will serve as Undersecretary for Welfare and Foreign Employment and will oversee the department’s Aksyon Fund, which will be used to help distressed OFWs in various countries.
The department’s Undersecretary for Finance and Internal Affairs is Maria Anthonette Velasco-Allones, whom Ople said, is another seasoned official who has been in the civil service for 31 years.
Velasco-Allones was the former head of the Tourism Promotion Board prior to her latest appointment, and also served as a former DOLE Assistant Secretary during the Arroyo administration.
Other appointees include fresh names in the government service like Patricia Yvonne Caunan, an advocate for migrant workers’ rights and gives free legal assistance and advice to OFWs in various forums.
She will be the DMW Undersecretary for Policy and International Cooperation.
Other “new faces” in the DMW include Jerome Alcantara as the Assistant Secretary for Land-based services and concurrently Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary; Levinson Alcantara as Assistant Secretary for Pre-employment Services; Felicitas Bay as Assistant Secretary for Migrant Workers Welfare Services; Francis Ron de Guzman as Assistant Secretary for Licensing and Adjudication Services; Jerome Pampolina as
Assistant Secretary Sea-based Services, and Violeta Illescas as Assistant Secretary for Internal Management and Administration.
“This mix of familiar faces and new names reflect our desire for continuity and innovation. The DMW’s “dream team” is now in place, and we vow to serve our OFWs faithfully and with the utmost professionalism,” Ople said. With Vince Lopez