Department of Migrant Workers Sec. Abdullah Mama-o (INQUIRER.NET)
听MANILA, Philippines鈥擠epartment of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Abdullah Mama-o on Friday questioned the validity of a Palace memorandum nullifying the agency鈥檚 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).
听鈥淎s far as I am concerned, that memo alone has no legal effect at all,鈥� Mama-o said in a Teleradyo interview.
The memorandum was issued by the Office of the Executive Secretary, but Mama-o said neither Duterte nor Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea has signed it.
听鈥淚t was not signed by Medialdea. It was signed by an official, I don鈥檛 know, of the Office of the Executive Secretary.鈥澨�
听Mama-o explained that signing a document for an office, in this case, the Office of the Executive Secretary, is not allowed.
鈥淚 asked the court division of Malaca帽ang the name of the official concerned because what he had done was not in accordance with the law. You cannot sign for the President. You cannot sign for Medialdea, because the delegated authority to the executive secretary cannot be further delegated,鈥� he added.
听The Department of Labor and Employment recently said that the IRR of the agency had been nullified, citing a memorandum from the Office of the Executive Secretary dated April 18, stating that 鈥渢he President interposes no objection to the submitted IRR鈥� of the transition committee.听
听The DMW transition committee wanted to nullify the IRR issued by Mama-o.听
has said that the DMW 鈥渟hall not be constituted鈥� unless there is an appropriation for the newly-created agency in the 2023 General Appropriations Act, an effective IRR, and a staffing pattern.听
The conflict began when Mama-o lifted the Saudi Arabia OFW deployment ban imposed byDOLE.听
Bello said it is 鈥渦ltra vires鈥� or beyond the power of Mama-o to lift the deployment ban in Saudi since the DMW is yet to be constituted.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Thursday also called on President Rodrigo Duterte to intervene due to the 鈥渃onfusion鈥� within the DMW mandates.
In December 2021, Duterte signed the measure creating the DMW to consolidate all relevant agencies under one office to make it easier for migrant workers to get their documents and seek help from the government.
RELATED STORY:听
Dept. of Migrant Workers chief denies role in OFW recruitment