Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) deserve not only recognition for their sacrifices but also stronger support and opportunities upon returning home, a lawmaker said during a regional reintegration fair in Leyte.
Tingog Party-list Representative Jude Acidre, chair of the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, highlighted the importance of helping OFWs translate their overseas experience into productive and stable lives in the Philippines.
The event, held as part of Migrant Workers’ Month and the 128th Independence Day celebrations, carried the theme “Bayan, Bayani, Bayanihan: Para sa Kalayaan, Kinabukasan at Kasaysayan.”
“Behind every success story abroad are years of hard work, separation from family, and personal sacrifice,” the party-list solon said. “Reintegration is crucial to ensure returning OFWs can rebuild their lives, invest in communities, and transform skills and experiences gained abroad into lasting opportunities at home.”
He pointed to the proposed Bagong Balikbayan Act, which aims to strengthen reintegration programs by providing returning workers with livelihood assistance, employment facilitation, skills upgrading, financial literacy, and social protection services. He stressed that reintegration is a long-term process, not a one-time intervention.
The lawmaker also highlighted the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP), which allows returning OFWs and other working Filipinos to convert prior learning and professional experience into academic credits, enabling them to complete higher education without starting from scratch.
“With the right support, the skills, discipline, and professional experience that OFWs bring home can drive local economic growth, create jobs, and strengthen communities,” Acidre said.
He called on government agencies, local governments, educational institutions, private sector partners, and civil society to work together in building stronger support systems for returning OFWs. “Let us honor the sacrifices of our modern-day heroes by ensuring their return marks not an end, but the beginning of new opportunities, renewed purpose, and shared progress for our country,” the lawmaker added.
He concluded that true freedom is realized not only in history but through opportunities that allow every Filipino to live with dignity, security, and hope.