BY LESLIE ANN AQUINO
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Sunday announced that President Duterte has approved the release of additional P5 billion for the repatriation and assistance to overseas Filipino workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Because the President loves our OFWs, our modern heroes, he gave us the additional funds that we need for the repatriation and aid to our OFWs,” he said in a statement.
Last week, Bello revealed that the labor department has almost exhausted the P2.5-billion Abot Kaya ang Pagtulong (AKAP) assistance fund being extended to both on-site and repatriated OFWs affected by the pandemic.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has been extending a one-time P10,000 or $200 cash aid under AKAP to pandemic-affected OFWs.
As of August 8, the DoLE said assistance has been provided to more than 233,000 land-based and sea-based workers, with disbursed amount of P2.388 billion.
DOLE’s Philippine Overseas Labor Offices and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) had processed and approved the applications of 267,584 OFWs under the program meant to benefit only 250,000.
Bello had requested a P2.5 billion additional fund to augment the requirements of about 597,469 OFWs seeking government assistance.
With additional funding, the Labor chief said more OFWs will benefit from the AKAP program and even more overseas workers will be repatriated and provided with assistance. (Leslie Ann Aquino)
“I have directed our Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) to accelerate the processing of the assistance so that a greater number of our OFWs will benefit soonest from the aid coming from our government,” he said.
According to Bello, a huge part of the fresh funds will be released to the OWWA which undertakes the repatriation of OFWs displaced on-site due to lockdowns and closure of establishments overseas.
Aside from repatriation assistance, OWWA also shoulders the cost of Covid tests of OFWs upon arrival in the country, their food and accommodation in hotels while awaiting test results and the transport to their home provinces once tested negative of the virus.
The agency has so far sent home close to 130,000 OFWs since May 15 via land, sea and air transport.
The latest batch of 1,185 OFWs took their rides to their home provinces on Saturday bringing the total number at 129,491 OFWs sent home and given assistance.
