THE Philippines, through Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez, intends to enter into a labor agreement with the Bahamas to promote the welfare and protect Filipino workers in the island nation.

Romualdez, Philippine ambassador to the United States, met with Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis on March 24 at the latter’s office in Nassau to discuss issues of mutual concern such as climate change and disaster mitigation.

In a statement on Monday, the Philippine Embassy in Washington said Romualdez and Davis discussed possible governmentto-government memorandum of understanding (MoU) for overseas Filipino workers.

They also tackled safety and security in international shipping, protection of the marine environment, as well as enhanced trade and investment between the Philippines and the Bahamas.

Romualdez had proposed the drafting of a government-togovernment MoU “to institutionalize the recruitment of Filipino workers through a bilateral labor cooperation framework,” the embassy said.

The ambassador made the proposal to “ensure the protection of OFWs and mitigate illegal recruitment which is considered a trafficking in persons crime in the Bahamas,” it added.

During their bilateral meeting, both officials expressed interest to explore ways to further strengthen bilateral labor cooperation.

There are about 2,000 Filipinos in the Bahamas who work in various industries that include health services, household services, hospitality, accounting, education and ship repair.

In 2021, Philippine trade with the Bahamas reached $443,479 with exports amounting to $441,859 and with very minimal imports at $1,620 “ending with a trade balance of $440,239 favoring the Philippines,” the embassy said.

The meeting between Davis and Romualdez took place after the ambassador presented his credential to Bahamian GovernorGeneral Cornelius Smith.

Bahamian Foreign Minister Frederick Mitchell and the Philippine Honorary Consul in the Bahamas Leo Ignacio joined the meeting.