AS thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) return home after the holiday season, House Committee on Higher and Technical Education Jude Acidre on Sunday appealed to the Senate led by Senate President Vicente “Tito”
Sotto III to swiftly pass the Bagong Balikbayan Act, a priority reintegration measure principally authored by former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and recently approved and transmitted by the House of Representatives.
Acidre, representative of Tingog Party-list, made the appeal following the approval and transmittal of the bill by the House of Representatives, saying 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 (HB) 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 their sacrifices with concrete and lasting reforms.
Acidre, who is also a principal author of the measure in both the 19th and 20th Congresses, said it was part of Romualdez’s legislative push as former Speaker to institutionalize long-term protection and reintegration support for overseas Filipinos.
The bill was approved by the House on December 16, 2025 and transmitted to the Senate the following day, positioning it for early Senate action as the government braces for a new wave of returning workers seeking employment, livelihood opportunities, and family support.
The Bagong Balikbayan Act aims to address long-standing weaknesses in existing reintegration programs, which lawmakers say 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 timing of the bill responds to a recurring reality faced by many OFW families at the start of every year.
“Every first quarter of the year thank you, 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 pushed by Romualdez, reintegration assistance will 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 establishes centralized digital platforms that allow returnee OFWs to access job matching, training, financial literacy programs, and reintegration services through a single system, cutting down paperwork and multiple visits to government offices.
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.
The bill of Romualdez is essential also to strengthen protection for undocumented and distressed OFWs by institutionalizing confidential assistance mechanisms, livelihood training, and access to affordable credit for small enterprises and livelihood projects.
With the measure 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.
