She arrived here on Jan. 26 and has already met CNMI officials like Labor Secretary Gil San Nicolas.
Consul General Medardo G. Macaraig said Lavilla left Saipan on Saturday after her six-year tour of duty in the CNMI.
“The Philippine Consulate General welcomed Ms. Carmelina Velasquez, the new labor representative on Saipan, CNMI, USA, and bid farewell to outgoing Labor Representative Joan Lourdes D. Lavilla,” Macaraig said in a statement.
Velasquez is a former Overseas Workers Welfare Administration director for its funds and investment management office, and was also the pre-departure orientation program director of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration head office.
Saipan is her second assignment as labor attaché.
She served in Brunei Darussalam from June 2003 to March 2005.
When asked about her impression about the labor situation on Saipan, Velasquez said it is different from Brunei because the CNMI is undergoing a transition period now that its immigration system has been federalized.
Velasquez, or “Carl” to her friends and colleagues, entered government service in 1978.
She finished her master’s degree in public management at the Development Academy of the Philippines, and her bachelor of arts degree in sociology at the University of Santo Tomas.
She is married to businessman Danilo B. Velasquez, and they have three children — Jay Cee, 24; Dan Carlo, 18, and Maria Danica, 14.
There were no welfare and labor cases or complaints that Lavilla turned over to Velasquez.
She said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office will continue to give support to Filipino workers in the CNMI.
Velasquez said she will continue the skills and livelihood programs initiated by Lavilla.
“We will expand and strengthen all of these programs,” she said, adding that they may even include new livelihood programs.
She said the labor office will also continue to collaborate with the CNMI government, especially in the information drive about the upcoming census.
