The Manila Times
THE Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) has proposed the integration of marriage migrants and cross-border families in an academic training course that deals with the impacts of international migration. The CFO said it made the recommendation to highlight the government’s push for a deeper understanding of global migration. The proposal was made on Wednesday during the curriculum review for the 2026 Professional Course on Global Migration (PCGM), organized by the University of the Philippines-Cifal. The commission said that to craft effective diaspora programs, the CFO requires its key personnel to have a mastery of modern migration governance, which is why its participation in the PCGM "is vital." The CFO said that its push to include marriage migrants in the curriculum is aligned with its "frontline role in the Philippine government's campaign against human trafficking." It noted that under Secretary Dante Ang II, the CFO "is undergoing a strategic pivot toward active diaspora engagement for national development." The commission "is shifting from viewing migration merely through the lens of labor to viewing overseas Filipinos as vital partners in nation-building, philanthropy, and economic investment," it added. "Cross-border marriages and mail-order spouse schemes have historically been exploited by traffickers to bypass traditional labor regulations," the CFO said in a statement on Monday. "Because marriage migrants fall under the CFO's direct jurisdiction, the commission acts as a critical safety net," it added. Through mandatory guidance and counseling services, the CFO screens and prepares spouses of foreign nationals, equipping them with legal knowledge to prevent domestic violence, exploitation and modern-day slavery. Now on its eighth run, the PCGM will take place from August to November 2026 for mid- to senior-level migration practitioners. The course links migration governance to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration.
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