MALACAÑANG said on Thursday it is backing proposals to inject additional resources to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), funds of which are being drained significantly by the huge requirements of assisting and repatriating thousands of migrant workers displaced by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the assurance in response to OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac’s pronouncement at a Senate Labor committee hearing on Wednesday that its remaining P18-billion trust fund could be exhausted by next year if the mass repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) continues.
In all, at least 345,000 OFWs were displaced, Labor committee chairman Sen. Joel Villanueva said, citing reports given by agencies.
OWWA noted it already spent P1.1 billion to provide for the needs of 59,000 OFWs since March.
Besides the nearly 60,000 workers repatriated, an additional 62,000 more workers have expressed intention to come home.
When Cacdac raised the possibility of bankruptcy for OWWA, Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said lawmakers will not allow that to happen, and will pass whatever legislation is needed to shore up OWWA’s financial position.
Villanueva earlier cited estimates that remittances from OFWs are expected to decline by 30 percent to 40 percent in 2020. “This means a reduction in the OFW remittances by $10 billion to $13 billion.”
“In this time of the pandemic, we will not allow OWWA and PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation) to go bankrupt,” Presidential spokesman Roque said on Thursday.
He noted the Senate is now considering providing a P5-billion supplemental budget to OWWA to support its ongoing services for OFWs during the Covid-19 crisis.
“This is proof that we will not abandon our countrymen and OFWs in this time of the pandemic,” Roque said.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes
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