Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

            As I look around me this afternoon, I see that we are all in a celebratory mood. From where I stand, I see a festivity worthy of celebrating the 152nd birthday of Jose P. Rizal.

            And since we are throwing a party for our National Hero, Pag-IBIG Fund will offer gifts to OFWs – our modern-day heroes, ang mga bagong bayani.

            But first, let me offer a few facts:

            More than a million Filipinos are deployed overseas every year. That’s according to the records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

            Every year, that number grows. In 2007, OFW deployment totaled 1.07 million. In 2011, that number grew to 1.68 million. This means that more than 4,625 Filipinos left for work abroad for every single day in 2011.

            The establishment of the OFW Center aims to increase the level of appreciation among OFWs. Alongside our partners, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the POEA, we want to make OFWs realize that they are indeed a breed of heroes.

            Ang Pag-IBIG OFW Center ay ang aming regalo para sa ating mga kababayan na sinubukan na makipagsapalaran sa dayuhang bansa upang mabigyan ng magadang buhay ang kanilang pamilya at sa kalaunan ay malaki ang naitutulong sa pag-unlad ng ekonomiya ng ating bansa.

            Ang one-stop shop na ito ay natatanging lugar kung saan pangangalagaan namin ang lahat ng pangangailangan ng mga OFWs habang nakikipag-ugnayan sila sa Pag-IBIG Fund.

            Bilang pagtatapos, inaanyayahan ko kayong lahat na magdiwang sa araw na ito dahil lahat tayo ay may dugong Pilipino, ang lahing mga bayani.

            Salamat po!