Let’s start with a prayer: “Heal us O Lord, and we will be healed; help us and we will be saved; for You are our praise. Grant complete care and healing to all our wounds; for You, Almighty King, are a faithful and merciful healer. Blessed are You Lord, who heals the sick of His people Israel. May God’s presence be with you and grant you peace.”
It must be a sign of aging or the effects of climate change that this near-sighted Ibaloy writer fails to remember in whose administration our dearly beloved overseas Filipino workers have been hailed as “mga bagongbayani” or new heroes.
Our hard working kababayans were proclaimed as such for their sacrifices in seeking employment abroad to provide for their families while enduring homesickness and other challenges overseas. To digress, it is unfortunate that our government, led mostly by members of political dynasties, still can’t provide decent-paying jobs to many of its citizens.
The annual dollar remittances of OFWs to their kin back home amounting to billions of pesos also continue to prop up or bolster our national economy against challenges like the financial havoc created by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, our beloved OFWs deserve to be called heroes and be treated accordingly.
In this regard, we believe that a senator’s bill for the establishment of a Department of Overseas Filipinos (DOFil) has great merit since it supposedly seeks to protect the rights and advance the interests of OFWs who now compose 10 percent of the country’s population, according to a news report.
Wow, assuming that he is correct, that’s more than 10 million OFWs since the Philippines is currently populated by more than 100 million Pinoys. That’s a huge number. What’s more, the same report reveals that various OFW groups have called for the immediate passage of the Senate bill.
Putting politics aside, we believe that if creating a separate department would bring greater benefits to OFWs, then it should immediately be done. As they toil far away from home, our kababayans deserve all the protection and assistance needed especially amidst a pandemic. Just a thought.
The City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) is conducting free anti-rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats of residents. Bring the record or card of your pets. Pets below three months old, pregnant, and sick will not be vaccinated. Schedule of free vaccination per barangay, please call the CVAO at 443-5332.
Here’s “Let Go” by Shelby Parsons: “What do I do,/ When I’m still in love with you?/ You walked away,/ ‘Cause you didn’t want to stay./ You broke my heart, you tore me apart./ Every day I wait for you,/ Telling myself our love was true./ But when you don’t show, more tears start to flow./ That’s when I know/ I have to let go.”
