Duterte calls on OFWs to be 'assertive', says Andanar in Dubai
January 15, 2025
By Expat Media
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Duterte calls on OFWs to be 'assertive': Andanar in Dubai
DUBAI - The Philippines' "new heroes" need to be assertive if they want to contribute to the country's growth, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said in his message to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) during a recent visit to Dubai. Andanar spoke to members of the Filipino community in the UAE at the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai on Sunday. Andanar relayed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's message to the Filipino expatriate community here. "He appeals to all of you to be persistent and assertive. He can't do it on his own. If you have a bad experience in dealing with our government employees or staff, report it to 888, your consular officials or to us," Andanar said. "Duterte wants the entire country to prosper and give all Filipinos dignity. The president is very thankful to the overseas Filipino workers," he said, adding that a testament to this is Duterte's "political will" to open the one-stop service center for OFWs and the launch of the OFW Bank, which is expected to be operational in January. OFW remittances contributed to a total of 26 billion dollars to the Philippine economy this year, which constitutes 8 percent of the country's gross domestic product. In his short talk, Andanar also addressed Duterte's critics. "They said that with Duterte as president, the economy will drop. But just last week we recorded the highest Philippine Stock Exchange Index at more than 8,000 points. It only shows that investors from outside our country are very confident of our economy," he said. Andanar also touched on Duterte's widely criticised war on drugs, saying that the fight will continue. At least 3,800 suspected drug peddlers have been killed in legitimate police operations, according to police statistics. However, rights groups have said thousands more have died in extra judicial killings. "The crime rate needs to go down, public officials must be rid of corruption and the poverty rate in our country must go down," Andanar said. He said that on the home front, majority of Filipinos support Duterte's anti-drug campaign, quoting a SWS survey in September that said 77 percent of Filipinos support the campaign and 71 percent believe that the number of drug users in their respective localities has decreased. "It means that the fight against corruption is going on and will not stop," he said, adding that the crime rate has decreased by 21 percent, according to police figures. Tax collection Andanar also revealed that the Duterte administration collected 6 million pesos in unpaid taxes from the Lucio Tan business group, "something that none of the previous administrations and presidents were able to do". He said that Duterte also made a cigarette company pay 30 billion pesos in taxes that went unpaid for years. "For the first time we have a president who was able to make oligarchs pay millions of pesos in back taxes," he said. DAJ/Expat MediaALSO READ
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