Manila, May 27 -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday emphasized the need to upskill and protect the rights and welfare of Southeast Asian nationals working in Gulf countries.

This, as Marcos noted that over 2.7 million citizens from the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries live and work in six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member-states, including professionals and skilled workers.

During his intervention at the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Summit at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia, Marcos said the GCC is "an important region" for the Philippines when it comes to labor mobility because it accommodates more than two million overseas Filipino workers.

"They contribute significantly not only to the econom...