A TOP Palace official said since the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is yet to be fully constituted, this means that all agencies to be merged into the new department should continue to operate independently under the current set-up.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea emphasized this in a letter addressed to DMW Secretary Abdullah Mama-O on April 5, 2022.
Medialdea said in the letter that Mama-O’s recommendation to recall the appointment of officials in the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) “cannot be favorably acted upon” by Malacanang.
According to Medialdea, certain conditions must be met for the DMW to be constituted.
He said these conditions include an appropriation for the DMW in the 2023 General Appropriations Act, an effective implementing rules and regulations, and a staffing pattern of DMW.
“Considering that the DMW has not been constituted yet, it follows that the government entities/agencies enumerated in Section 19 of RA 11641 shall continue to exist separately and perform their respective mandates until DMW is constituted,” Medialdea said.
Section 19 of RA 11641 enumerates the agencies that will be consolidated and merged into the DMW.
Mama-O made the recommendation to recall the appointments due to alleged dissolution of the POEA as a result of its merger with other agencies to form the DMW.
An interagency transition committee has submitted to the Palace a draft Implementing Rules and Regulation for the operationalization of the DMW. Once in order, Malacanang will cause its publication before it takes effect and serve as guide in the smooth transition leading to the full constitution and operation of the new department.