VENTIANNE, Laos, Sept. 6 (PNA) — President Rodrigo Duterte promised overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) here that they would come home to a better Philippines.
“I assure you pag-uwi niyo, iba na ang sistema doon (I assure you, when you return to the Philippines, the system will be better),” President Duterte told OFWs here and from Thailand when he met them Monday.
Greeting the OFWs, he said he was happy to see them in good health.
In his speech, he assured the OFWs, considered back home as modern-day heroes for keeping the Philippine economy afloat with their remittances, that he is doing his best to make the country better.
For starters, he said his administration has begun efforts to rid the country of its illegal drug problem and cleanse the government of corruption, citing that the members of his Cabinet are competent in their respective fields and have personal integrity.
“Give me time and I will fix the country,” he said.
President Duterte informed the Filipino community here of hotline 8888, which he described as the “ordinary people’s link to him”. He said it is on 24/7, and OFWs could use it to tell him of their condition. He assured them that any information received through the hotline would reach him.
President Duterte told the OFWs that his election to the presidency meant much to him, calling it a reflection of the Filipinos’ desire for a government that would look after their welfare, treat everybody fairly, and keep the country safe and secure.
The President’s meeting with OFWs here was his second in five days, after he met repatriates from the Middle East at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last August 31.
