Established on 16 June 1980 through Batas Pambansa 79,  the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) is an agency of the Philippine  Government under the Office of the President tasked to promote and uphold the interests, rights and welfare of overseas Filipinos and strengthen their ties with the Motherland.

 

The evolution of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas can be traced over a series of policy pronouncements. Presidential Decree No. 442 (Labor Code of the Philippines), which was passed in 1974, created the Overseas Employment Development Board in order to set up a systematic program for the overseas employment of Filipino workers, as well as to register and monitor emigrants leaving for various countries. The following years were characterized by a steady increase in migration, thus making it necessary to establish an independent unit which would constitute a local support network solely for Filipino emigrants. In June 1978, Presidential Decree No. 1412 was passed the Office of Emigrant Affairs (OEA). The decree specifically identified Filipino emigrants as the recipients of its services.

In June 1980, Batas Pambansa Blg. 79 was enacted to strengthen the government’s policy on the promotion of migrant welfare and interest. It created the Commission on Filipinos Overseas which replaced OEA but retained and further expanded its mandate.

The CFO registers and provides pre-departure orientation seminars to emigrants. It also promotes the transfer of technology as well as material and financial contributions from overseas for development projects in underserved communities all over the Philippines. It also provides younger generations of Filipinos overseas with opportunities to learn Philippine history and culture.

---

FUNCTIONS

Batas Pambansa Blg. 79, mandates the CFO to perform the following functions:

• Provide assistance to the President and the Congress of the Philippines in the formulation of policies and measures concerning or affecting Filipinos overseas;
• Develop and implement programmes to promote the interest and well-being of Filipinos overseas;
• Serve as a forum for preserving and enhancing the social, economic and cultural ties of Filipinos overseas with the motherland; and
• Liaise on behalf of Filipinos overseas with appropriate government and private agencies in the transaction of business and similar ventures in the Philippines.

---

CLIENTELE

Under Batas Pambansa Blg. 79, the primary clientele of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas are:

• Filipino permanent migrants or permanent residents abroad
• Filipinos overseas who have become naturalized citizens of other countries or dual citizens
• Filipino spouses and other partners of foreign nationals leaving the country
• Descendants of Filipinos overseas, as defined in Batas Pambansa Blg. 79
• Filipino youth overseas
• Exchange Visitor Program participants
• Filipino Au Pair participants

---

VISION

The Commission on Filipinos Overseas envisions a community of well-respected and proudly competitive Filipinos overseas who contribute significantly to the productivity and well-being of the countries where they reside or work while maintaining strong political, economic and cultural ties with the Philippines.

BISYON

Hangad ng Komisyon sa mga Filipino sa Ibayong Dagat (CFO) ang isang komunidad ng mga iginagalang at mahuhusay na Filipino sa ibayong dagat na makabuluhang nag-aambag sa pagiging produktibo at kapakanan ng mga bansang kanilang tinitirahan o pinagtatrabahuhan, habang nananatili ang matibay na ugnayang pampolitika, pangkabuhayan, at pangkalinangan sa Pilipinas.

---

MISSION

To be the Philippines’ premier institution in promoting policies, programs, and projects with Migration and Development as a framework for the strengthening and empowerment of the community of Filipinos overseas.

MISYON

Maging pangunahing institusyon ng Pilipinas sa pagtataguyod ng mga patakaran, programa at proyektong gamit ang Pangingibang-bansa at Kaunlaran bilang balangkas para sa pagpapatibay at pagpapalakas ng mga komunidad ng mga Filipino sa ibayong dagat.

 

---

CFO QUALITY POLICY STATEMENT

We in the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), a government agency responsible for upholding the interests, rights and welfare of overseas Filipinos and strengthening their ties with the Philippines, commit to effectively and efficiently deliver gender-responsive policies, programs and services for the well-being and empowerment of the community of Filipinos overseas.

In pursuit of this commitment, we shall:

Capacitate our people through continuous professional development anchored on social responsibility;

Formulate policies and facilitate quality and citizen-centric programs and services that exceed expectations of the public we serve; and

Optimize the benefits of migration with overseas Filipinos as development partners of the Philippines and their host countries while addressing the social costs.

With the commitment to uphold the principles of good governance and highest standards of excellence, we adhere to comply and continuously improve our quality management system and other legal requirements.

“Kalidad na serbisyo para sa mamamayan, abot sa labas ng bayan”.

 

PAHAYAG NG PATAKARAN SA KALIDAD NG CFO

Kami, ang Komisyon sa mga Filipino sa Ibayong Dagat (CFO), isang ahensiya ng pamahalaan na nangangalaga sa interes, karapatan at kapakanan ng mga Filipino sa ibayong dagat at pinatatatag ang kanilang ugnayan sa Pilipinas, ay nangangakong epektibo at episyenteng maghahatid ng mga patakaran, programa at serbisyo para sa kapakanan at pagpapalakas ng komunidad ng mga Filipino sa ibayong dagat.

Sa pagsasagawa ng pangakong ito:

Tutulungan naming magkaroon ng kakayahan ang mga kawani sa pamamagitan ng patuloy na pagpapaunlad pampropesyon na nakabatay sa mga pananagutang panlipunan;

Bubuo kami ng mga patakaran at tutulong sa magagandang programa at serbisyo para sa mga mamamayan na higit sa kanilang inaasahan;

Lubusin ang mga benepisyo ng pangingibang-bansa na katuwang ang mga Filipino sa ibang bansa tungo sa pag-unlad ng Filipinas at ng bansang kanilang tinitirahan at pinagtatrabahuhan, habang tinutugunan ang negatibong epekto nito sa lipunan.

Sa pangako na itaguyod ang mga prinsipyo ng mahusay na pamamahala at pinakamataas na pamantayan ng kahusayan, aming susundin at patuloy na pagbubutihin ang aming Quality Management System at iba pang kahingiang pambatas.

“Kalidad na serbisyo para sa mamamayan, abot sa labas ng bayan”.

 

---

10-POINT GOALS OF THE COMMISSION

A. Policy Advocacy

1. To advocate for coherent, coordinated and clear development policies to be mainstreamed in the policy-making process of government: on international migration, its cost-benefit implications and the need for both national and local governments to maximize migration’s gains while minimizing its socio-economic costs, that while international migration is a reality, government must create an environment that would make migration an option rather than a matter of necessity and that the government’s primary responsibility remains focused on sustainable, integrated, equitable, nation-wide development taking into consideration the country’s economic, political and social structural problems and issues especially in relation to employment, poverty alleviation, equitable distribution of wealth and the benefit of development and improvement of all its citizens’ quality of life.

2. To support and strengthen a favorable rights-based policy environment for the promotion and protection of rights, welfare and status of overseas Filipinos; to assist in the formulation and implementation of policies and programs relevant to their rights, welfare and status.

B. Socio-economic Development

3. To develop and implement, in coordination with and with the support of other government agencies, a streamlined and facilitative entry and directional process for “development assistance” in the form of resources, knowledge, skills and technology from Filipinos overseas, that will be strategic and responsive to existing development issues and needs of the country and will optimize the assistance’s development potentials.

4. To provide mechanisms for various stakeholders to coordinate, forge partnerships, upscale and leverage diaspora funds (e.g. remittances and savings) and investments, broaden donors’ and investors’ base and replicate best practices especially in financial literacy, microfinance and social enterprises, in order to make these funds more effective tools for the country’s development and economic growth.

C. Integration and Reintegration

5. To assist in the integration of migrating Filipinos in their host countries by educating them on the realities of international migration, preparing them to meet the practical, cultural and psychological challenges attendant to migration and providing them other services as may be developed and needed, mindful of the social costs of migration to the overseas Filipinos themselves (especially for the women who are most vulnerable to abuse, discrimination and exploitation), to the families (especially the children) they have left behind and to their local communities.

6. To assist in the productive and seamless re-integration of returning overseas Filipinos and their families in the country, recommending policies, programs and measures to transform brain drain to brain gain, to enhance the returnees’ earning capabilities and for better incentives’ package for overseas Filipinos to return, to retire and to invest.

D. Culture and Education

7. To ensure that Filipinos overseas remain rooted in their Filipino culture by developing, implementing, promoting and coordinating with other institutions, global awareness and appreciation of Filipino language, culture and heritage.

E. Institutional development and organizational strengthening

8. To promote the leading role of CFO on the formulation of policies and in addressing key issues on migration and development

9. To improve and enhance CFO’s institutional capabilities for lobbying and advocacy for policy-setting, formulation and reform; in coordinating and building consensus with all migration-related government agencies on issues/policies/programs of major concern and critical to overseas Filipinos; and mobilizing stakeholders in the migration and development sector, especially for regular multi-stakeholder consultations and collaboration.

10. To provide accurate, timely and comprehensive data on international migration of Filipinos through linkages with government agencies and other stakeholders essential for policy formulation and protection of overseas Filipinos.

---

Legal Mandate

The evolution of the CFO can be traced over a series of policy pronouncements.