President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Mama-o as the presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers first tasking him of overseeing the repatriation of Filipinos in Saudi Arabia who were affected by a financial crisis.[3]
In 2018, Duterte formed a task force, which Mama-o was made a member of, as part of a bid to free Filipinos who were kidnapped by armed militants in Libya.[5] In 2019, Mama-o helped facilitate the return of seven Filipinos in Libya who were accused of smuggling fuel.[6][7]
President Duterte would appoint Mama-o as the first secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) in March 9, 2022.[1][8] However the department is in a transition period and is expected to be fully operational by 2023.[9]