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President Gloria Arroyo inducted Friday Marianito
Roque as Labor secretary in simple ceremonies held at the Indophil
compound in Marilao, Bulacan.
The President appointed Roque as
acting Labor secretary on March 18, replacing then Labor Secretary
Arturo Brion, who was appointed by the Chief Executive to the
Supreme Court.
As Labor secretary, Roque said he
would still act as Administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration (OWWA) in a concurrent capacity.
Roque rose from the ranks in the
OWWA and was responsible for a number of service improvements
involving the special needs of more than eight million overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs).
The newly appointed Labor
secretary was responsible for the repatriation of thousands of
overseas Filipinos, including undocumented ones, from strife-torn
host countries. Also credited to him is the opening of the OWWA
Hostel and Halfway Home for overseas Filipinos, the activation of
the modern OFW e-card, and the educational and other scholarship
trainings for returning overseas Filipinos, including their
families.
President Arroyo also swore in
Social Security System Commissioner Vic Balais who was reappointed
for another three years effective August this year.
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