Bill seeks help for OFW families
SEN. Mark Villar has filed a bill that seeks to establish a welfare and social assistance program for families left behind by migrant workers.
Villar explained that Senate Bill 527 or the proposed “Left Behind Household of Migrant Workers Act” tasks the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to establish Migrant Workers Family Centers nationwide to provide welfare assistance and counseling services to the families of migrant workers.
“While they are able to financially contribute to their families, migrant workers are often separated from their children during their most formative years of growth, which threatens healthy development,” the lawmaker said.
According to Villar, based on a study, a review was conducted to determine the health effects of being left behind to Filipino children.
From the findings, it indicated that children of migrant workers experienced a vast range of poor physical and mental health outcomes due to separation from their parents.
Ruptures in the family that started in early childhood may result in long-term physical, cognitive, and emotional outcomes.
Migrant workers aim to fulfill the basic needs of the family, especially those related to food and financial security, however, the psychological needs of belongingness and intimacy were fully challenged because of physical separation.