Bill proposes intervention for “left-behind” families of OFWs

	Personnel from the DFA Office of Undersecretary of Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) welcome repatriates from Lebanon and Kuwait upon their arrival at NAIA Terminal 3. Photo from OFW Help FB page.

MANILA – Families left behind by OFWs (Overseas Foreign Workers) or migrant workers must be assisted by the government considering that their children are deprived of parental attention during their formative years, according to a measure filed by Senator Mark Villar.

Senate Bill No. 1527 or the Left-Behind Household of Migrant Workers Act noted that the healthy development of the children is affected when left behind by either their father or mother, or worse, both.

Children of migrant workers experience a vast range of poor physical and mental health due to separation from their parents, most starting from early childhood, that may result in long-term physical, cognitive, and emotional outcomes, according to studies.