7:26 pm Saturday, March 11, 2017
By: Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho
The 31st National Migrants’ Sunday (NMS) was held last March 5, 2017 at Sta. Teresita Charismatic Center, La Paz, Iloilo. Since 1986, the NMS is a yearly event that celebrates and recognizes the heroism of Overseas Filipino Workers as well as their families. Celebrated annually on the first Sunday of Lent, NMS gives tribute to the sacrifices of the migrant workers and their families. It is organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People.
“Migration is not something to fear. Migration is to attend to the needs of those whom we care and loved. We migrate for work as to sustain them, make them secured in life and to provide for their future,” Bishop Ruperto Santos, ECMI chairperson, said. He added that there is real need to protect women and children who are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Overall, recent government statics showed how migration is becoming increasingly feminized as more women are migrating on their volition, seeking economic opportunities.
Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo hailed OFWs as the country’s new heroes: “It is heroic to live as migrants in other countries, and they are our new heroes.”
Meanwhile, two members of the International Pro Bono Network (IPBN_ Atty. Pingki Bernabe- Bartolome and myself, gave a briefing on legal matters of OFWs (landbased and seabased) before almost 3,000 members of the Ang Dios Gugma (ADG) whose most members have OFW relatives.