Philippines, Vietnam Hold Bilateral Meetings

on Migration, Labor Issues

06 April 2017 MANILA — The Philippine Embassy in Hanoi facilitated a round of bilateral meetings between Vietnam and the Philippines from March 27 to 28 to discuss ways forward to address migration and labor-related issues. Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs, Jesus I. Yabes, who headed the high-level Philippine Delegation to Vietnam, was accompanied by Assistant Secretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Reynaldo A. Catapang, Southeast Asia Division Director Emilio T. Fernandez, Assistant Secretary Federico A. Abuan, Jr. of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Deputy Administrator Aristodes R. Ruaro of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and Chief Legal Officer Robert B. Chuan of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The Philippine Delegation met with its Vietnamese counterparts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security, and Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs and covered various topics, which included easier consular access to detainees and prisoners, rescue procedures for Filipino fishermen, employment conditions of Filipino migrant workers in Vietnam, drug trafficking, and labor cooperation, among others.

This series of bilateral meetings is further pursuant to the Joint Statement between the Philippines and Vietnam, issued on the occasion of the visit of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to Vietnam on September 26, 2016, which highlights the need to increase the exchange of high-level visits to discuss cooperation mechanisms in the field of migration and labor.

Aside from participating in the bilateral meetings, town hall meetings were also held in the cities of Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi to respond to the concerns and issues encountered by Filipino migrant workers. END