Governance "I direct our economic team to work hard on all fronts to manage inflationary pressures and provide a safety net to those hit hardest by these global developments. I direct them to draw up a contingency plan to cushion the impact of a possible economic recession of the developed economies on the ordinary people of the Philippines. Possible, but you hope it will not happen, but it's important to have a contingency plan. And I direct the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Labor and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas to draw up a similar plan for overseas Filipinos."

OFW "We welcome their contribution. But we are working towards the day when Filipinos no longer need to go abroad for a job. For the day that overseas work is just another career option and not the only choice they have to earn a living. This Filipino I'm talking about, that they should be called expatriates rather than OFWs, is working abroad because it's a career choice. He's one of the highest paid persons in his profession in the whole world." Labor and Employment "Meanwhile, while we're working for that day, when for everybody, it will be just a career choice and not a necessity to go abroad, on the basis of our expatriates' contributions and on our nation's humanitarian responsibilities to our people wherever they are, whether they are here or abroad, our government works doubly hard to strengthen the protection of our workers." "Our policy is not to export labor. Our policy is to protect our workers when the market conditions both abroad and in the Philippines give them an opportunity to work abroad. And it is in this context today, in this day and age and its particular time in the economic development of the whole world, that it is our honor to host the Global Forum on Migration and Development this month."