MIGRANT Workers secretary Susan “Toots” Ople, the first to head the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), died Tuesday. She was 61.
The DMW confirmed her passing in a statement, saying Ople died at around 1 p.m. surrounded by her family and loved ones.
“We shall be releasing more details soon. For the meantime, we ask for prayers for the eternal repose of the soul of our dear Sec. Toots,” DMW spokesperson Toby Nebrija said.
Ople founded the non-profit organization Blas Ople Policy Center, named after her father, the late Senate President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Fajardo Ople, who in 1976 initiated overseas employment as labor secretary under the administration of Ferdinand E. Marcos.
In late July, she announced that she will take a two-week leave of absence from work following the deaths of her two elder brothers.
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