07 March 2017 MADRID — Secretary of Foreign Affairs Perfecto R. Yasay, Jr. emphasized to the Filipino community in Madrid that the Durterte administration is determined to ensure that there will be jobs available for Filipinos and that Filipinos would go abroad only as a matter of choice, and not because they are driven by economic necessity to find jobs outside the country.

The Secretary met with the Filipinos in Madrid at the Parroquia Basilica de la Virgen de Milagrosa on February 28 to brief the community on the policies and programs of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, particularly those that pertain to overseas Filipino workers.

The Secretary said that he makes it a point to listen to and address the concerns of overseas Filipinos wherever he travels.

He updated the community on the status of the bill seeking to extend the validity of the Philippine passport from five to 10 years, the administration’s anti-drug campaign, and its thrust to ensure economic development that will benefit all sectors of society, including the marginalized ones.

He reminded the community of the importance of complying with the laws of their host country.

The Secretary engaged the Filipino community in an open forum, where he answered a range of questions covering economic, political and socio-cultural matters. Among the questions he addressed were those on measures undertaken by the administration to attract more foreign direct investments for job creation, the status of the West Philippine Sea dispute, his personal point of view on the death penalty, and a request for the possible creation of an office of the Commission of Filipinos Overseas in Europe. END