Duterte asked: Reappoint Binay as adviser on OFWs

Former Vice President Jejomar Binay needs to go back to his post as Presidential Adviser on OFW Affairs.

Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque made the pitch for Binay's reappointment today, a few months before the lapse of the one-year ban on appointing defeated candidates.

"Siguro pagdating ng Hunyo matapos ang 1-year ban, sana pag-isipan ni Presidente Duterte na italaga muli si VP Binay bilang adviser on OFW affairs," Roque said.

Roque, who supported Binay's bid for the presidency in the last elections, said the former VP was effective in his job as adviser on OFW affairs.

Binay and Duterte traded barbs during the 2016 campaign, but Binay has largely remained silent after Duterte assumed power.

Roque and ACTS OFW party-list Rep. John Bertiz are also batting for the creation of a separate government department that will handle the concerns of overseas Filipino workers.

They said that the Department of Foreign Affairs is unable to attend to the needs of OFWs because of the sheer number of overseas Filipinos.

Lawmakers have been urging President Duterte to seek executive clemency for Jennifer Aresgado Dalquez, an overseas Filipino worker facing execution in the United Arab Emirates.

• READ: Lawmakers take up cudgels for OFW in distress