Marcos trip to Prague highlights OFW demand in Central, Eastern Europe –envoy

PRAGUE – Philippine Ambassador to the Czech Republic Eduardo Martin Meñez on Thursday said President Ferdinand ”Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s state visit would highlight the increasing demand for Filipino workers in Central and Eastern Europe.

”So the visit of the President is also significant for this point because the Czech Republic is sort of like, a symbol or representative of the demand for Filipino workers in Central and Eastern Europe,” Meñez said in an interview.

“So it is a very opportune time for the President to come and visit this country. And also to make sure that the conditions for our workers are good,” she added.

According to Meñez, one of the deliverables for Marcos’ visit is a labor consultation mechanism ”for us to ensure that we are able to study the data, look at the trends and work with the Czech government to address future problems or emerging problems.”

The Filipino official reiterated that the quota on the number of Filipinos working in the Czech Republic alone could increase to 10,300 by May of this year.

”The Czech government and the employers in the Czech Republic have seen how well the Filipino workers have adapted and how hard they work, and the productivity of the companies that have hired them has also gone up,” he said. 

When it comes to trade and investment, Meñez said the complementary strengths and efforts of both countries allow for economic cooperation to flourish as started by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala when he visited Manila last year.

Marcos also brought a business delegation to Prague that will participate in two business forums during his state visit, according to the envoy.

He said Marcos is the first Asian head of state or more notably, the first Indo-Pacific head of state, who embarked on a visit to the Czech Republic under the administration of President Petr Pavel. —KBK, GMA Integrated News