Why Toots Ople

Why you should vote OPLE for Senator in 2010?
Solid Background
  • Youngest child of former Sen. Blas F. Ople, the author of the labor code and the recognized father of OFWs.
  • 16 years of honest service in government, including a stint as Undersecretary of the Department of Labor.
  • Holds a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University where she was given the Josephine Vernon Award for Excellence in Communication.

Proven Track Record
  • Despite not having a government position, Susan “Toots” Ople has helped our fellow Filipinos in so many ways, and without any fanfare:
  • In 2006, she was able to secure the freedom of 17 trafficked victims in Damascus, Syria. Her lobbying also led to the establishment of an embassy in Syria, giving 17,000 Filipinos easy access to government help and protection.
  • She also led the way in filing charges against 12 licensed recruitment agencies that victimized 137 bus drivers as workers to Dubai.
  • Her NGO, the OPLE Center, currently provides free computer literacy programs for OFWs and their dependents nationwide. The oldest graduate of the program, called TULAY, is 80 year old Lola Buhay, who now maintains her own Facebook account to communicate with her loved ones abroad.

 

Concrete Legislative Agenda
For Labor:
  • OWWA reform: 6 of the 12 members of OWWA’s Board of Directors must be bona fide OFWs, because they are the ones who can genuinely represent the needs of their sector.
  • Stop the abuse of contractual workers: Make it more difficult for companies to fire employees indiscriminately at the end of their 6 month contract, to make sure workers who are industrious don’t get fired just because their employer doesn’t want to pay for additional benefits.
  • Beef up local employment: Study trends in employment and come up with a 6 to 10 year national employment strategic plan. This employment plan should not have a bias for what jobs will be in demand overseas; rather, it should also give equal attention to local industries that when developed would employ a lot of people (i.e. creative industries).

 

For the Youth:
  • Study Now, Pay Later: Re-introduce and strengthen the Study Now, Pay Later program, where students can borrow money from the government for their studies, and pay it back once they already start working.
  • Inclusion of Financial Literacy in HS and College Curriculums: high school and college students, no matter what course, should be taught the basics of saving and investing. They should know how to open a bank account, what a time deposit is, how to buy shares from public companies, and the like. This is practical education that will serve them well once they start earning their own money.

 

For her solid background, proven track record in public service, and concrete and relevant legislative agenda, we should vote SUSAN “TOOTS” OPLE for Senator in 2010!