Arroyo cuts red tape for livelihood programs of displaced OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Monday night ordered Labor Secretary Marianito Roque to simplify the implementation of the livelihood and job matching programs of displaced Filipino workers abroad.

Mrs. Arroyo issued the marching order during a meeting with the Filipino community at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh. She arrived in Riyadh Monday night from Milan in Italy to check the condition of the more than one million OFWs in Saudi Arabia.

She bared the “full reciprocity program" for OFWs and laid off workers, which is composed of the P1-billion Filipino expatriates livelihood support fund and assistance for them find new jobs.

“I told Secretary Roque of the Department of Labor and Employment not to punish expatriated Filipinos. Let’s cut the red tapes," she said in Filipino.

DOLE and the Overseas Workers and Welfare Administration (OWWA) will lead the implementation of the government’s programs for displaced expatriate Filipino workers.

She said it is time to pay OFWs back for their efforts to help the economy through their remittances.

Mrs. Arroyo also directed DOLE and OWWA to coordinate trade and agriculture departments in giving livelihood assistance to OFWs.

She said the P1 billion for livelihood support for displaced OFWs will be sourced from the OWWA and government lending institutions like the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Land Bank of the Philippines.

The fund would be used to finance the small businesses to be established by the displaced Filipino workers and for their re-training for call centers, welders, bakers and chefs.

DOLE and OWWA will create “help desks" in the provinces to assist Filipino workers. Workers can find job opportunities through the www.phil-job.net.

She said the government would bring the professional licensure examinations to certain locations so that expats in Qatar, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia will be able to take the exams and get high-paying jobs.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration is conducting a “marketing blitz" for expats who want to go other countries where their talents are needed.

The President said the government can fund the job creation and livelihood assistance programs because the Philippine economy is stable. - GMANews.TV

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