Noynoy Aquino vows to curb ‘forced migration’

President-elect Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III wants more local jobs so that Filipino workers will not have to go overseas to seek employment. This will be the “ultimate target" of the next administration, he said at a press conference immediately after his proclamation in Batasan Pambansa Wednesday. Filipino workers should leave the country “by choice rather than being forced by necessity," he said. “The ultimate target has to be to provide jobs here in the country that will not necessitate our countrymen, by force of necessity, to venture out of the country and be at risk," Aquino said. He said reaching this target could take time, but for the meantime he said pertinent government agencies should be strengthened to fully ensure the protection and welfare of Filipinos overseas. “In the interim, all the concerned agencies that deal with overseas Filipino workers should really be focused, (such as) the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs), POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration), OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration). They should be demonstrating more readiness, more efficiency and greater scope in terms of being able to protect our citizens abroad," he said. He also said he is planning to review the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the government’s main technical-vocation institution, with the goal of integrating it with the Department of Education (DepEd). “The minimum change we'd like to see is to integrate (TESDA) with DepEd. If our youth want to pursue studies only until high school, they should have the skills and abilities with which they would be able to make a living," Aquino said. He particularly cited the need to assess the agency's spending vis-a-vis the number of Filipinos it is able to help. He also said they are looking at increasing the coverage of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to include all Filipinos. "We are studying and trying to initiate efforts to have PhilHealth cover not only 38 percent but 100 percent of Filipinos." He also vowed that his administration would continue implementing conditional cash transfers, which involve giving Filipino families funds to keep the children in school and meet health requirements, among others. Aquino, the only son of the late President Corazon Aquino and slain Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., will formally assume office on June 30. - KBK, GMANews.TV