Acidre urges Senate to pass Bagong Balikbayan Act for OFW reintegration

The House Committee on Higher Education and Technical Education, led by Jude Acidre, on Sunday appealed to the Senate, headed by Senate President Vicente Sotto, to pass the proposed Bagong Balikbayan Act to strengthen the government’s reintegration program for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Acidre’s appeal came as the measure—principally authored by former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and recently approved by the House of Representatives—was transmitted to the Senate as a priority reintegration bill.

The Tingog Party-list representative said the timing underscores the urgency of institutionalizing programs that help OFWs transition back into local employment, entrepreneurship, and community life after years of working abroad.

House Bill No. 6643, or the Bagong Balikbayan Act, seeks to consolidate reintegration services, expand access to livelihood assistance, and provide a more predictable support system for returning migrant workers and their families.

With OFWs arriving home in large numbers after the holidays, Acidre said early Senate action on the measure would send a strong signal that Congress is ready to match the sacrifices of migrant workers with concrete and lasting reforms.

The party-list lawmaker, who is also a principal author of the bill in both the 19th and 20th Congresses, said the proposal was part of Romualdez’s legislative push as former Speaker to institutionalize long-term protection and reintegration support for overseas Filipinos.

Approved by the House on December 16, 2025, and transmitted to the Senate the following day, the bill is positioned for early Senate action as the government braces for a new wave of returning workers seeking employment, livelihood opportunities, and family support.

The proposed measure aims to address long-standing weaknesses in existing reintegration programs, which lawmakers said often leave returning OFWs unemployed or underemployed months after coming home, despite years of skills and experience gained overseas.

Acidre, who chaired the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs during the 19th Congress, said the bill responds to a recurring reality faced by many OFW families at the start of every year.

“Every first quarter of the year, we see OFWs come home with plans to rebuild their lives,” Acidre said. “This bill ensures they are not left to navigate that transition alone, but are met with clear pathways to work, livelihood, and family stability.”

Under the proposed law, reintegration assistance would begin as early as six months before an OFW’s return through Migrant Workers Offices abroad, allowing workers and their families to plan ahead for employment, entrepreneurship, education or skills upgrading, and psychosocial support.

The measure also mandates regular job fairs, expanded employment facilitation, and formal recognition of skills and work experience acquired overseas, including the possible grant of appropriate civil service eligibility based on overseas experience.

“For many OFWs, the hardest part is not leaving—it’s coming home,” Acidre said. “They bring back valuable skills, but without recognition and support, those skills often go to waste.”

To reduce bureaucratic delays, the bill proposes the establishment of centralized digital platforms that would allow returnee OFWs to access job matching, training, financial literacy programs, and reintegration services through a single system.

Families of returning OFWs are among the direct beneficiaries of the measure, which provides psychosocial counseling, family reintegration support, and access to social protection programs, particularly for distressed and vulnerable households.

With the bill now before the Senate, Acidre said timely concurrence would allow the reintegration framework to take effect within the year, enabling the government to respond more effectively to the immediate and long-term needs of returning OFWs and their families.