DAVAO City Councilor Rachel Zozobrado said the knowledge and insights gathered during the Second Mindanao Summit on Migration Governance, Peace, and Development would be incorporated into the proposed ordinances on the welfare of aspiring migrant workers in the city.
Zozobrado, who chairs the City Council's Committee on Migrant Workers and International Relations, said the summit would provide them with a better understanding of the situation on the ground, which could help improve the proposed legislation.
“Makuha nato tanan inputs and magamit nato para effective gyud and efficient ang mapasa nato nga polisiya and ordinansa or whatever na atoang ma-suggest sa Dakabayan sa Davao,” she said in a media interview on July 28, 2026, at the Pinnacle Hotel Davao.
(We can gather all the inputs and use them to ensure that the policies and ordinances we pass or whatever recommendations we submit to the Davao City Government are truly effective and efficient.)
Zozobrado said incorporating inputs from the summit would help ensure that the ordinances being proposed are aligned with the realities on the ground, as well as with national and international policies.
She said putting the legislation in place would benefit overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), their families, and recruitment agencies.
Zozobrado has proposed two ordinances aimed at protecting the welfare of migrant workers, their families, and those interested in working abroad.
One proposal seeks to establish a migration help desk to ensure that individuals interested in working abroad can easily seek assistance from their respective barangays.
She also proposed the Safe Migration Ordinance to protect the welfare of migrant workers amid the increase in human trafficking cases in the city.
Zozobrado hopes the two proposed ordinances, along with the integration of inputs from the summit, will help curb trafficking cases in the city. She said the ordinances would enable the city to strengthen vigilance at the barangay level and promote safe migration.
The Mindanao Migrants Center for Empowering Actions, Inc. (MMCEAI) conducted the Second Mindanao Summit on Migration Governance, Peace, and Development on July 28, with about 160 stakeholders expected to attend the three-day event, which runs until July 30.
The summit features four workshops focusing on children of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), irregular migration corridors, climate-induced migration, and internal migration and urbanization. RGP
