Philippine Congressman Rodante Marcoleta, fifth right seated, and wife, Edna, center, join members of the Filipino community in the CNMI during a “meet-and-greet” event at the Koblerville basketball court on Friday.
PHILIPPINE Congressman Rodante Marcoleta on Thursday said he was happy to see the good conditions of Filipinos working and residing in the CNMI and Guam.
Marcoleta was the main guest of the Coral Coast Foundation Corp. in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Sustainable Fresh Greens project in Koblerville.
In an interview, Marcoleta, who represents the urban poor in the Philippine House of Representatives as a member of the SAGIP (Social Amelioration and Genuine Intervention on Poverty) Party-List, said he was happy to “witness their condition here as they work, live and associate themselves in the local community,” referring to the Filipinos in the Marianas.
He said the Filipinos he met on Guam and Saipan told him that they are long-time residents of the islands.
“You just can’t stay in a place where you’re not happy. Some work at hotels, some at the airport. They told me their situation is good and there’s nothing they can complain about, unlike the overseas Filipino workers in other countries, especially in the Middle East — there are a lot of bad experiences there,” Marcoleta said.
He said once he returns to the Philippines “I can report…that the OFWs here are in good condition.”
Marcoleta said perhaps in the future, Filipinos in the CNMI and Guam will “come home and share what they have learned, or they may want to retire in the Philippines.”
He said he is also grateful to the members of the Filipino community in the CNMI and Guam for their warm welcome. All of them, he added, were happy to see him while expressing their support for his candidacy.
Marcoleta is running for the Philippine Senate in the 2025 midterm election.
“I think I am becoming more confident that, God-willing, I might settle into a position that many people want me to be,” he added.
