The Philippines has pledged its commitment to deepening diplomatic ties with Nigeria in the areas of labour and migration, among other sectors of the economy.

Hans Cacdac, secretary of migrant workers of the Republic of the Philippines, disclosed this during his visit to Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, on Wednesday in Abuja.

He described Nigeria as a country that Filipinos have found to be a safe haven, saying more would be done to strengthen the diplomatic relations between the two countries for their mutual benefit.

According to him, the visit is under the auspices of the mandate by the Philippines President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to deepen bilateral labour relations with countries hosting 4,000–6,000 Filipinos working for the Nigerian economy and their families back home.

Mr Cacdac said, “There is really no way but forward-looking, in terms of deepening our bilateral labour relations ties.

“We also intend to meet the Minister of Labour, in terms of bilateral labour relations, so we could know more about each other’s systems, in the fight against illegal recruitment and human trafficking, which we both wage war against.

“We could also talk about capacity building and areas in which we would get to know more about each other.

He expressed the country’s plan of establishing a Labour Office under the Philippine Embassy with a labour attaché in Nigeria, to coordinate with the Nigerian labour ministry and government authorities.

“Also to offer services and coordinative ties with our Filipino community in Nigeria.

“I have nothing but gratitude for the warm reception and understanding of the need to deepen our relations in labour for the mutual interest of our countries.

“We could learn from each other, again in terms of finding better ways and areas of cooperation to the advantage of both of our economies.

“So we have nothing but gratitude. Our hearts are full and we have more than an optimistic view toward deepening our two nations’ bilateral labour relations,” he said.

On his part, Mr Tuggar described the relationship between Nigeria and the Philippines as one that is traceable to the independence era.

The minister said diplomatic ties have been maintained between the two countries for a long time.

“We have a joint commission and we have shared a lot. A lot of people in this room from my generation went to school at a time when we had a lot of Filipino teachers.

“Many of us were taught, particularly STEM subjects, by Filipinos. It is something that when you are taught by an individual from a different country, such a person imparts not just knowledge about the subject, but also the culture and tradition.

“Beyond that, we have had a lot of workers for decades from the Philippines participating in our aviation and maritime industries,” he said.

Mr Tuggar reiterated President Bola Tinubu’s four-D administration agenda centred on democracy, demography, development, and diaspora, which places emphasis on the protection of Nigerian workers who inevitably work abroad.

He said Nigeria, with a population of not less than 230 million people, mostly youthful, looks forward to tackling issues of demand and supply in many countries experiencing a dearth of skilled workers.

“By engaging with the Philippines, we want to also equally learn from successful Filipinos in this area, on ways of tackling issues of manpower, human resources, and workers abroad.

“To do so, just like the Philippines has been doing with the full protection of the government, our workers go abroad, they work with dignity, with respect, and their families are given equal opportunities when working abroad.

“It is paid for by the Nigerian government, but we want it to become equally a revenue-generating entity,” he added.

Mr Cacdac was accompanied by the deputy minister handling international cooperation, Jainal Rasul, and assistant secretary Julene Ambito, who handles pre-employment concerns in the Philippines.

Others in the entourage included the anti-illegal recruitment and anti-human trafficking director, Jain Mendez, as well as officials of the Philippine Embassy in Abuja.

(NAN)