The Filipino church expressed its solidarity with Filipino migrant workers and others on the occasion of 32nd National Migrants’ Sunday (NMS), calling for better treatment towards them in host countries. Since 1987, when it was established, the Church has used the event to show its concern for the situation of overseas Filipinos and their families left behind at home.
As reported by Asianews, Mgr Ruperto Cruz Santos, bishop of Balanga and president of the Commission for the pastoral care of migrants and itinerants (ECMI) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), expressed support for the decision, calling on the government to offer better social protection to Filipino workers. His Grace Bishop remarked that “Our migrant workers should be safe. They should not be threatened or exploited. Their rights must be protected and their dignity respected”.
The NMS is designed to promote awareness, understanding and appreciation of the realities of economic migration. This year’s theme was ‘welcoming, protecting and integrating migrants and refugees’.
