MANDALUYONG CITY -- In celebration of Migrant Workers’ Day on June 6, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO Network) signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize their partnership to implement NATCCO’s Diaspora Program and help overseas Filipinos and their families be productive and reintegrate into the mainstream of Philippine society.
Signing the document were DMW Secretary Atty. Hans Cacdac and NATCCO CEO Sylvia O. Paraguya.
Theme for the Migrant Workers’ Day is “Bagong Bayani Kaagapay sa Bagong Pilipinas” (New Heroes, Partner of a New Philippines).
Overseas Filipinos have been deemed the “new heroes” who have kept the Philippine economy afloat.
NATCCO Chief Operating Officer, Daisybelle Cabal, said: “It is unfortunate that very few OFs and their families can build their financial resilience—save for emergencies, start businesses, or purchase productive assets, much less plan for retirement. After a lifetime of working abroad, they may have accumulated material indicators of success, but not the underlying ability to sustain it.”
The “NATCCO Diaspora Program” began in 2015 to encourage overseas Filipinos and their families left behind in the Philippines to join credit cooperatives, gain financial literacy, access the financial services of cooperatives, save, invest, and even start enterprises.
The overall aim is to encourage overseas Filipinos to mobilize savings and built wealth in the Philippines and overseas, thus channeling Overseas Filipino remittances towards rural development.
DMW is mandated under Republic Act 11641 to “formulate, plan, coordinate, promote, administer and implement policies, and undertake systems for regulating, managing and monitoring the overseas employment of Filipino Workers and reintegration of OFWs.”
The MOU states: “the DMW and NATCCO share a common vision that the Filipino diaspora is an untapped resource that can be used to positively impact the economic and social development of the Philippines.”
The MOU listed down the tasks of DMW and NATCCO.
Although NATCCO has implemented the Diaspora Program since 2018, conducting trainings for OFWs and their families on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, cooperative education both onsite and online, under this agreement, it will now be done in close coordination with the DMW.
The two parties will meet quarterly to assess the status of the implementation of the Agreement. The Agreement is good initially for one year after signing, but may be renewed.
Cabal added: “Through this partnership, we aim to support our bayanis and their families in achieving financial wellness through financial education, business development services, and access to financial services for sustainable reintegration. The wealth-building mechanism of cooperatives aims to build financial resilience and improve the financial behaviors of OFWs and their families, measured by diversified income streams, emergency savings, debt situation, investments, and thrift and savings behavior. We also include important indicators of quality life – good health and time to have rest and recreation. Cooperatives provide financial services tailored to the unique needs of OFs and their families.”