Ople to run with Villar under NP

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/27/2009 7:21 PM


MANILA – A former labor undersecretary and a staunch ally of migrant workers who is eyeing a seat in Senate will be running under the banner of the Nacionalista Party (NP).

Susan “Toots” Ople is the newest member of the NP. She took her oath in a simple ceremony held at the historical Laurel House along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City.

"Nagsimula ang aking ama sa buhay publiko sa Nacionalista Party. Kahapon, pumayag ang NP na isama ang labor agenda ng grupo sa plataporma ng partido. Kaya hindi ako nahirapan na sumanib sa senatorial line-up ng NP," said Ople, youngest daughter of the late Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople.

Ople’s oath-taking was witnessed by several leaders of unions and workers groups and families of overseas Filipino workers—all members of the the Maka-Manggagawa Movement led by former OFW-turned-businessman Jun Aguilar.

Presidential aspirant, Sen. Manny Villar, is NP’s standard-bearer in the May 2010 elections.

"Matagal ko nang naririnig at hinahangaan ang ginagawang pagtulong ni Susan Ople sa mga OFWs. Alam naman ng lahat na nag-umpisa ang overseas employment sa panahon ng kanyang dakilang ama na si Ka Blas. Tutulungan ng NP ang bunsong anak ni Ka Blas upang maging tinig ng mga OFWs at manggagawa sa Senado," Villar said.

Ople urged Villar to work together with the Maka-Manggagawa Movement to strengthen and improve the current OFW program.

"Itinulak ang aking desisyon na tumakbong senador ng aking pangarap na sa loob ng anim na taon, mababawasan ng kalahati ang bilang ng kababaihan na aalis ng bansa upang magtrabaho bilang katulong sa Gitnang Silangan, hindi sanhi ng pansamantalang pagbabawal, kundi may sapat at disenteng hanapbuhay upang mapanatili sila sa kanilang tahanan," Ople said.

She added agencies that her father started like the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) must likewise be strengthened.

"Kailangan palakasin natin ang mga ahensiyang ito at mapaunlad ang kanilang paghahatid ng serbisyo. Kinakalaban ko ang mga pang-aabuso at pagsasamantala, kabilang ng labor-only contracting na dapat maituwid sa pamamagitan ng tatluhang konsultasyon sa pamamagitan ng lehislasyon," said Ople.

She began her Senate stint as a researcher for former senator Ernesto Herrera. In 2006, Ople left the Senate after 16 years and headed the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, where she helps victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment.

as of 11/27/2009 7:21 PM


Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/11/27/09/ople-run-villar-under-np