RP officials twit militant migrant group over benefit fund row

MANILA, Philippines — A government troubleshooting team sent to the United Arab Emirates lashed out at a militant migrant group for its signature drive questioning a benefit fund for laid-off workers.

Online news site Khaleej Times (www.khaleejtimes.com) reported that Labor Attaché Jeffrey Cortazar questioned Migrante Middle East's claims of alleged misappropriations of the fund.

"Do your homework. Do some pencil pushing instead of maligning government efforts without any basis at all," said Cortazar, head of the labor department's help desk mission in Buraimi.

He noted Migrante had been critical of everything the government is doing, but refuses to acknowledge the fact that the OFW funds doubled within a year under Labor Secretary Marianito Roque.

Cortazar said the fund had doubled from P5 billion (Dh500 million) to P10 billion (Dh1 billion).

"I am sure Migrante knows that. Only it chooses to be silent about what is positive and good," he said.

Earlier, Migrante Middle East regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona released a lobby letter for Philippine legislators and leaders of churches and other groups.

He also initiated a signature campaign to supposedly protect a P1-billion Expatriate Livelihood Fund, which he said was appropriated without consulting the overseas Filipino workers.

Bai Umera Dianalan Lucman, member of the Board of Trustees of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, stressed that disbursement of OWWA funds can only be done if the 12-member Board of Trustees, of which she is a member, approves it.

"The board is a composite team of the officials from the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and representatives from the land-based and sea-based overseas Filipino workers," she said.

She added that P200 million (Dh20 million) was packaged for distressed workers in September 2008.

"This came in the form of livelihood programs, and to avail of this fund, the applicant should present a certificate that they were displaced," she said.

She said the remaining P800 million (Dh80 million) will be released through the Development Bank of the Philippines – Land Bank of the Philippines for those who have been retrenched.

Cortazar said the packaged program for the retrenched workers is in three major phases, the second and third of which were repackaged OWWA programs.

"A cut-off date was October 15, 2008. Only those OFWs retrenched after October 15 can avail themselves of the programs, which allocated P10,000 (Dh1,000) for the training and start-up capital of every retrenched Filipino worker," he said. - GMANews.TV

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