The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) met with Mr. Logaventhan S/O Karuppannan, Deputy Chief of Mission and Counsellor of the Embassy of Singapore, today, 13 March 2025.
To preface the meeting, Secretary Dante โKlinkโ Ang II introduced the CFO as the sole Philippine government agency under the Office of the President tasked with serving Filipino permanent migrants and ensuring their continued social, cultural, and economic ties with the Philippines. He explained that the CFO implements pre-departure orientation seminars for family-based migrants, marriage migrants, au pairs bound for Europe, and participants in the U.S. Exchange Visitor Program. He also shared the CFO’s role as chair of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking – Advocacy and Communications Committee (IACAT-ADVOCOM), which ensures that registered Filipino migrants are protected from trafficking and that trafficking victims receive the necessary assistance.
Dir. Rodrigo Garcia, Jr. of the Policy, Planning, and Research Division (PPRD) further elaborated on the CFO’s special projects, including the biennial Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas (PAFIOO). He noted that there have been previous awardees from Singapore, with a total of 10 recipients, four of whom were recognized during the 2020-2022 awarding cycle.
The primary focus of the meeting was the CFO’s request for updated data on the number of Filipino immigrants in Singapore, which was prompted by ongoing challenges in tracking Filipino migrants after they leave the Philippines. While the CFO has taken steps to address these data gaps, such as establishing a data-sharing agreement with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), incorporating CFO services into the DICT’s eTravel mobile app, and collaborating with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to refine methodologies for counting overseas Filipinos, available figures remain incomplete and difficult to verify.
Secretary Ang underscored the importance of accurate migration data for informed policy development and effective service delivery, ensuring that programs are tailored to the needs of Filipino migrants. In response, Mr. Karuppannan committed to providing available data. He estimated that of Singapore’s approximately 6 million residents, around 250,000 are either Filipino temporary contract workers or permanent migrants.
Mr. Karuppannan also acknowledged the positive contributions of Filipinos in Singapore and shared updates on the Singaporean government’s efforts to protect migrant workers. These include mandatory medical check-ups every six months for domestic workers, orientation programs on their rights before deployment, and the provision of emergency contact numbers to ensure access to assistance if needed.
The meeting concluded with Secretary Ang and Mr. Karuppannan reaffirming their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and Singapore, particularly in improving data-sharing mechanisms and enhancing the welfare of Filipino migrants.
Comments are closed