STA. CRUZ, Laguna – The Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO) conducted an Orientation and Capacity Building Workshop on the development and use of the Localized BaLinkBayan Portal in the provincial government of Laguna.

The BaLinkBayan is the overseas’ Filipinos one-stop online portal for diaspora management, offering an integrated and unique platform to re-engage with the Philippines through the so-called D2D (Diaspora to Development) program of the CFO.

Discussed during the workshop were website management, data gathering, introduction to CFO and the BaLinkBayan Project, and orientation on human trafficking and other related Laws.

According to the CFO, the said portal addresses the concerns of many migrants and their families in investing but would need information and directions to make their money work for them on a sustained basis, as there is an absence of a developed government website portal for the purpose of assisting overseas Filipinos to invest in the Philippines.

Headed by Executive Director Undersecretary Astravel Naik, the CFO is an agency attached to the Office of the President of the Philippines mandated to strengthen ties between and among overseas Filipinos and the motherland, as well to promote their interests in the country and abroad by developing policies and implementing programs.