DOLE told to give laid off OFWs easy access to P1B fund

MANILA, Philippines - Laid off overseas Filipino workers should get an ‘easy access’ to the P1-billion livelihood fund earmarked by the Philippine government to help the victims of the global economic crisis get back on their feet, the Department of Labor and Employment was told on Monday.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gave the tall order to Labor officials as she announced the allotment of a P1-billion expatriate and export workers' livelihood support fund.

The said amount would be funded by the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration, Arroyo added.

“I've told [Labor] Secretary [Marianito] Roque that the rules and mechanics of accessing this money must be simple and hassle-free. Returning expatriate workers and retrenched export workers should not be subjected to irrational rules and red tape," Arroyo said in her speech in Malacañang on Monday.

The DOLE is the lead agency in carrying out the standby fund for all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) displaced by the economic crisis. The first component of the program is the support fund financed by the OWWA and other government lending institutions for laid off OFWs to help them start up their own businesses or finance further studies and training.

Aside from the assistance fund, Arroyo said they would tap the laid off OFWs to become trainers of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). - GMANews.TV

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