THE Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) reported on Friday it has assisted and returned to their hometowns some 300,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who were repatriated by the Department of Foreign Affairs, or flew back to the country on their own since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic that displaced migrants in dozens of countries.
In an interview with PTV on Friday, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Cacdac said these were the OFWs they were able to assist since May and are now in their home towns.
Cacdac also said that they expect to repatriate another 70,000 to 80,000 OFWs before the end of the year.
He noted the figures could still increase during the Christmas season when more OFWs are inclined to spend the holidays at home.
OWWA noted there has been a slowdown in their operations of transporting OFWs back to their provinces because of Typhoon Ulysses (international code name Vamco).
It is targeting to resume the “usual flow” of their efforts to bring OFWs back to their homes in the coming days.
OFW aid
Aside from transportation services, Cacdac reported they will also soon start releasing cash aid to beneficiaries of the government’s “Tabang OFW” program.
Tabang OFW is a one-time P30,000 financial assistance given by the government to student dependents of displaced or deceased OFWs.
Cacdac said they already completed the screening process for 2,000 applicants of the program and will start releasing their “Tabang OFW” benefits this weekend.
He said they also rolled out last week their Tulong Puso Program, which provides organized OFWs a loan ranging from P150,000 to P1 million, to put up a business.
OWWA and the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) program is also ongoing and had already benefited 325,000 OFWs.
AKAP is a one-time cash aid given by DOLE to workers, whose employment were affected by the pandemic.
Cacdac said they will be implementing the fourth tranche of the program using funding from the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act until the end of December.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes
2 comments
How can i avail a benifits for AKAP.
I will be going back home soon.
This nov.19 or 22 is my flight.
I want to apply also a business loan for me and my kids so that i will stay in philippines.
Why all the owwa programs it’s hard to aply for assistance till now I’m 2 months here in Philippine I’m reparieted from Kuwait embassy but iddnt received assistance livelihoods from owwa programs