Sen. Binay questions ‘conditional implementation’ of OFW legal assistance fund
Senator Nancy Binay on Wednesday called on Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad to explain the “conditional implementation” of the P100-million worth of legal assistance fund that Congress alotted for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) facing charges abroad.
“Would funding for the legal assistance for migrant workers now fall under Secretary Abad’s discretion, too?” Binay said.
She was referring to a veto message from President Benigno Aquino III dated December 23, 2014 that was attached in the enacted General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2015.
In the veto message, Aquino said that the implementation of the OFW Legal Assistance Fund must be aligned with the Department of Budget and Management’s laws, rules and regulations.
“The appropriations herein for the legal assistance fund shall be used in accordance with R.A. 10022 or An Act Amending Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 and remain to be part of the General Fund,” Aquino’s veto message said.
To this Binay said, “How do we interpret this conditional implementation of funding to be used to provide legal aid to our OFWs? Hindi ba parang nagpapakita ito ng kawalan ng concern para sa mga kababayan nating nangibang-bansa para maitaguyod ang mga pamilya nila?”
GMA News Online has sought a reaction from Abad, but he was not responding to calls and text messages as of posting time.
Increase
Binay pointed out that since 2011, funding for legal assistance for OFWs has existed in the GAA under the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) budget.
“Kaysa outright na magamit ang pondong inilaan para sa legal assistance, [ngayon ay] kailangan pa munang dumaan sa DBM ng request para madepensahan ang ating mga kababayang OFWs,” Binay said.
During the Senate deliberations on the 2015 national budget, Binay asked that the legal assistance fund for OFWs be increased to P100 million from P30 million in 2014.
Binay said that while the fund is now increased to P100 million, its implementation has become “conditional” following Aquino's veto.
According to data from the DFA, there were 6,002 Filipinos in jail abroad as of June 2014. Of the number, 807 were facing drug-related cases, 79 were accused of crimes punishable by death, and 3,407 were victims of human trafficking syndicates.
Binay said the meager amount of legal assistance being provided to the OFWs is in “stark contrast” to the huge amount of remittances that the OFWs are contributing to the country.
“Ang laki po ng naiaambag ng mga OFWs sa ating ekonomiya tapos ipagkakait pa natin ang tulong sa kanila? Ano pong implikasyon nitong ‘conditional implementation’ na ito sa paghahatid natin ng legal assistance sa mga kababayan nating OFWs na may hinaharap na kaso?” she asked.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that from January to August last year, OFWs had remitted a total of $17.232 billion. —KBK, GMA News
“Would funding for the legal assistance for migrant workers now fall under Secretary Abad’s discretion, too?” Binay said.
She was referring to a veto message from President Benigno Aquino III dated December 23, 2014 that was attached in the enacted General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2015.
In the veto message, Aquino said that the implementation of the OFW Legal Assistance Fund must be aligned with the Department of Budget and Management’s laws, rules and regulations.
“The appropriations herein for the legal assistance fund shall be used in accordance with R.A. 10022 or An Act Amending Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 and remain to be part of the General Fund,” Aquino’s veto message said.
To this Binay said, “How do we interpret this conditional implementation of funding to be used to provide legal aid to our OFWs? Hindi ba parang nagpapakita ito ng kawalan ng concern para sa mga kababayan nating nangibang-bansa para maitaguyod ang mga pamilya nila?”
GMA News Online has sought a reaction from Abad, but he was not responding to calls and text messages as of posting time.
Increase
Binay pointed out that since 2011, funding for legal assistance for OFWs has existed in the GAA under the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) budget.
“Kaysa outright na magamit ang pondong inilaan para sa legal assistance, [ngayon ay] kailangan pa munang dumaan sa DBM ng request para madepensahan ang ating mga kababayang OFWs,” Binay said.
During the Senate deliberations on the 2015 national budget, Binay asked that the legal assistance fund for OFWs be increased to P100 million from P30 million in 2014.
Binay said that while the fund is now increased to P100 million, its implementation has become “conditional” following Aquino's veto.
According to data from the DFA, there were 6,002 Filipinos in jail abroad as of June 2014. Of the number, 807 were facing drug-related cases, 79 were accused of crimes punishable by death, and 3,407 were victims of human trafficking syndicates.
Binay said the meager amount of legal assistance being provided to the OFWs is in “stark contrast” to the huge amount of remittances that the OFWs are contributing to the country.
“Ang laki po ng naiaambag ng mga OFWs sa ating ekonomiya tapos ipagkakait pa natin ang tulong sa kanila? Ano pong implikasyon nitong ‘conditional implementation’ na ito sa paghahatid natin ng legal assistance sa mga kababayan nating OFWs na may hinaharap na kaso?” she asked.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that from January to August last year, OFWs had remitted a total of $17.232 billion. —KBK, GMA News
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