Labor dept seeks addl P2.5B for OFW cash aid

ByJomar Canlas, TMT

July 6, 2020

AN additional P2.5 billion is needed to extend the cash assistance program to repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said on Sunday.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd said the government needs the money to attend to the increasing number of on-site and repatriated OFWs who were requesting assistance.

DoLE earlier gave P2.5 billion in two tranches to finance the Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong Program (AKAP), a one-time emergency cash aid of $200 or P10,000 to help OFWs displaced by the pandemic. Financing for the program came from the emergency fund under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.

Of the 250,000 targeted OFWs, 188,473 have received the cash aid as of July 4, amounting to P1.927 billion. About 56,283 beneficiaries have yet to receive the cash assistance.

Bello pointed out that as of July 4, DoLE’s overseas offices and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration recorded a total of 551,606 aid applications from both land-based and sea-based workers, who were either still in host countries or had returned to the Philippines.

“The fund released to us is fast depleting. So far, our offices approved the requests of 224,756 OFWs, 128,348 of whom are still locked down or stranded in their countries of work,” he said in a statement.

The Labor secretary is confident that President Rodrigo Duterte will approve the additional AKAP funding.

“Our OFWs are very dear to our President. Basta para sa ating OFWs, ibinibigay nya agad ang tulong (He would readily give assistance if it concerns our OFWs),” he said.

He added that AKAP would be able to extend emergency assistance to close to half a million OFWs given this additional funding.