The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) have finalized a two-year work plan that will guide efforts to strengthen fair recruitment, worker protection, skills mobility, and reintegration of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

In a news release on Tuesday, the DMW said the TRIANGLE partnership 2026-2027 Workplan was finalized during the Philippine National Program Advisory Committee (NPAC) Meeting in Mandaluyong on Monday, attended by government agencies and international and non-government partners involved in labor migration.

Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the partnership provides a way to turn labor migration priorities into concrete programs and policies for migrant workers and their families.

“This ILO Triangle partnership is a strong entry point for transforming opportunities into tangible programs and policies that benefit Filipino migrant workers and their families,” Cacdac said.

The meeting also reviewed the proposed NPAC terms of reference, program framework, and membership, which will serve as the basis for coordinating activities under the ILO TRIANGLE Partnerships.

The ILO TRIANGLE Partnerships for fair and effective labor migration is a five-year regional program covering April 2026 to March 2031.

The ILO implements it with funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The program covers ASEAN, with country-level programming in eight countries, including the Philippines.

The DMW said the partnership will focus on fair recruitment and legal migration pathways, skills development and recognition, labor and social protection, reintegration services, and other labor migration governance initiatives.

During the meeting, DMW Assistant Secretary Mary Grace Riguer-Teodosio presented the Philippines’ key priorities and challenges in labor migration governance, including the results of the Labor Migration Management Policy and future priorities.

Meanwhile, DMW Assistant Secretary Levison Alcantara pushed for broader representation of sea-based workers in the NPAC, proposing the possible participation of the Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines and Stella Maris.

He also supported allowing industry associations, civil society organizations and worker groups to propose and implement initiatives under the TRIANGLE Project and pushed for intersessional monitoring and evaluation to track the implementation of agreed activities between the NPAC’s annual meetings. (PNA)