The financial assistance for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has been raised to P150,000 from P50,000.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the increase, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac told reporters.
“From P50,000 ginawa na nating P75,000 from DMW [and] P75,000 from OWWA [Overseas Workers Welfare Administration]. So that’s a P150,000 financial assistance upon return,” according to Cacdac.
He said other government agencies have also extended immediate assistance to returning displaced OFWs.
The Department of Health provides physical check-ups upon the arrival of the affected OFWs, while the Department of Social Welfare and Development extends livelihood and financial assistance.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, on one hand, provides training vouchers, while other agencies such as the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Foreign Affairs offer post-repatriation assistance.
Cacdac clarified that those who have already received the P50,000 in financial assistance are not covered by the increase.
A total of 356 of the 11,360 OFWs in Lebanon have recently availed themselves of the governemnt’s repatriation program following the tension between Israel and Hezbollah militants.IMT
