Trajano praised the POEA for its efforts in helping OFWs. In fact, she said, the Philippines has most advanced policies and laws on migration among Asian countries.
On April 10, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Republic Act 9422, repealing Sections 29 and 30 of RA 8042, also known as Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.
RA 8042 mandated the secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment to phase out the regulatory functions of the POEA within five years from June 7, 1995.
Migrant workers’ rights advocates had lobbied for the repeal of Sections 29 and 30 that allowed private sectors to participate in the recruitment and deployment of migrant workers in an unregulated atmosphere.
“The POEA shall continue to exercise its power to regulate private sector participation in the recruitment and overseas placement of workers by setting up a licensing and registration system," Administrator Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said in a statement after the signing of the new law.
“In order to ensure that the rights and welfare of the migrant workers will not be sacrificed in foreign lands, the POEA shall deploy only trained and competent Filipino workers to countries where the Philippines has concluded bilateral labor arrangements," she said