Susan Ople | |
---|---|
![]() Ople in 2022 | |
1st Secretary of Migrant Workers | |
In office June 30, 2022 –August 22, 2023 | |
President | Bongbong Marcos |
Preceded by | Abdullah Mama-o (Ad interim) |
Succeeded by | Hans Leo Cacdac |
Undersecretary for the Department of Labor and Employment | |
In office 2004–2009 | |
President | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
Personal details | |
Born | Maria Susana Vasquez Ople February 9,1962 |
Died | August 22,2023 61) Metro Manila,Philippines | (aged
Political party | Nacionalista |
Domestic partner | Fort Jose [1] |
Children | 1 [2] |
Alma mater | |
MariaSusana "Toots" Vasquez Ople (February 9, 1962 – August 22, 2023) was a Filipina politician and Overseas Filipino Workers' (OFW) rights advocate who served as the first Secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers. [4] [5]
Susan Ople was born on February 9, 1962, the youngest of the seven children of Blas F. Ople and Susana Vasquez. Her father served as Labor Secretary/Minister during the Marcos regime and later as Senator.[ citation needed ] She served as media relations officer of Senator Ernesto Herrera and then of her father. She later became chief of staff to her father in the Senate and later at the Department of Foreign Affairs when he became its Secretary. [6] Alongside Herrera, she was the co-founder the Citizens’ Drugwatch Foundation. [7]
In 2004, Ople was appointed Undersecretary of the Department of Labor and Employment by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. She then ran for Senator in the 2010 Philippine elections but lost, ranking 34th out of 61 candidates. [8]
Ople was the founder and president of the Blas Ople Policy Center (BOPC) which assists distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) in various parts of the world. To promote her advocacy, Ople co-anchored the popular daily radio show “Bantay OFW” at DZXL. She also had a Saturday radio program on DWIZ 882 AM called “Global Pinoy”. [6]
Ople ran again for Senator under the Nacionalista Party in the 2016 Philippine Elections. She advocated to pass laws that would help advance the welfare of OFWs while at the same time highlighting key issues that affect them today. She was endorsed by four of five presidential candidates, namely Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Jejomar Binay, Grace Poe (of which Ople was part of a senatorial slate), and Rodrigo Duterte. She lost, placing 22nd out of 50 candidates. [9] [10]
In 2022, President Bongbong Marcos appointed Ople as secretary of the newly created Department of Migrant Workers. [11] On November 29, 2022, her appointment was confirmed by the congressional Commission on Appointments, making her the first secretary of the newly created executive department. [12]
Ople was diagnosed with breast cancer, which caused her to delay considering her appointment to Marcos' cabinet. Following Marcos' second State of the Nation Address in July 2023, she took medical leave. On August 22, 2023, she died from complications of the disease. [13] [14] She died while confined at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Metro Manila. She was 61 years old. [15]
Ople's main line of advocacy was on the rights of Overseas Filipino Workers, especially those being maltreated. She opposed the death sentence given by Indonesia to Mary Jane Veloso, who was tricked to carry drugs into the country, and advocated for the release of numerous OFWs imprisoned in the Middle East.[ citation needed ] In the labor sector, she supported the abolition of contractualization and called better employment opportunities, especially among the youth sector.[ citation needed ]
Ople supported the passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill which penalizes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and wrote articles in favor of the LGBT community. [16]
Ople supported the abolition of political dynasties as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution.
Blas Fajardo Ople was a Filipino journalist and politician who held several high-ranking positions in the executive and legislative branches of the Philippine government, including as Senate President from 1999 to 2000, and as Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2002 until his death. Perceived as a leftist-nationalist at the onset of his career in public service, Ople was, in his final years, a vocal supporter for allowing a limited United States military presence in the Philippines, and for American initiatives in the War on Terror including the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
An Overseas Filipino is a person of full or partial Filipino origin who trace their ancestry back to the Philippines but are living and working outside of the country. They get jobs in countries and they move to live in countries that they get jobs in. This term generally applies to both people of Filipino ancestry and citizens abroad. As of 2019, there were over 12 million Filipinos overseas.
Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million between April and September 2020. Of these, female workers comprised a larger portion, making up 59.6 percent, or 1.06 million. However, this number declined to 405.62 thousand between 2019 and 2020.
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The Department of Migrant Workers is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the protection of the rights and promote the welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) and their families. The department was created under the Department of Migrant Workers Act that was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on December 30, 2021. The functions and mandate of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will serve as the backbone of the department and absorbing the seven offices of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) namely the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs (OUMWA) of the DFA, Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB), National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) and the National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP) of the DOLE. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration will serve as its attached agency and the DMW secretary will serve as the concurrent chairperson of OWWA.
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