No irregularities in Welfare Fund use, OWWA insists

MANILA, Philippines - The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on Friday maintained that there are no irregularities in the management of its Welfare Fund.

In a statement, OWWA explained that its transfer of the OWWA Medicare Fund to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) in 2005 was mandated by law, and that "only the amount necessary to cover the existing claims as well as the one-year operating expenses and claims processing were transferred."

The agency noted that the remaining amount was retained by OWWA, which is "used in developing additional programs and services for OFWs, particularly relating to health services."

"In pursuit of transparency and accountability, OWWA welcomes inquiries into its fund management of the OWWA Welfare Fund," OWWA said, pointing out that as with any other government agency, OWWA's spending undergoes the strict scrutiny of the Commission on Audit.

"We would like to assure the Honorable Rex Gatchalian that there is no basis for the allegations of irregularities in the management of the Welfare Fund. Rest assured that the (fund) remains intact and will not be utilized in any manner contrary to what it was established for," it added.

Last February, Valenzuela City Rep. Rex Gatchalian, vice chairman of the OFW committee, moved for an oversight scrutiny of the OWWA funds in view of complaints from many migrant workers that they were given a hard time claiming benefits.

The OWWA trust fund is generated out of the $25 membership dues paid by Filipino workers every two years.

The transfer of the P530-million OWWA Medicare Fund to PhilHealth and the re-channeling of some $87, 757 to the International Labor Affairs Service of the Department of Labor and Employment spurred suspicions that part of the fund was used to support President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's presidential bid.

Late last year, various groups again called for an inventory of funds collected from OFWs by the OWWA and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and raised allegations of “overcharging" in the $25 membership dues by using a peso-dollar conversion rate of P51:$1, or P1, 275 when the exchange rate was already at P42:$1.

Following a Senate inquiry into the issue, OWWA and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the labor agencies agreed to adopt a flexible exchange rate in computing the peso equivalent of the $25 OWWA dues.

The OWWA fee was initially reduced to P1, 050 from Dec. 19 to 31, using an exchange rate of P42:$1. It was further reduced to P1, 043.58 in January, using the average exchange rate in December, and further down to P1, 023.45 in February, using the January average peso-dollar rate.

This month, the OWWA contribution was further reduced to P1, 017.175, using the reference rate of P40.687: $1. - GMANews.TV

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