Repatriated Pinoys from Libya to receive P10,000 cash aid from OWWA

Overseas Filipino workers who were repatriated from strife-torn Libya will receive a one-time cash assistance amounting to P10,000 each starting next week, Labor Secretary  Rosalinda Baldoz announced Thursday.

In a statement, Baldoz said the cash assistance is under the Financial Relief Assistance Program (FRAP) of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

“The OWWA Board of Trustees has approved the FRAP as one of the means to provide them (affected OFWs) immediate financial relief," said Baldoz, who chairs the 12-member OWWA Board, referring to Resolution No. 7 Series of 2014.

Under the resolution, OFWs who were repatriated from Libya starting July 20, 2014, when the Philippines raised Crisis Alert Level 4 (Mandatory Repatriation) in the troubled African country, shall be granted the financial aid.

Of the estimated 13,000 Filipinos in Libya, only about 1,000 have so far sought repatriation, with many deciding to stay in Libya for fear of being unemployed or underemployed in their home country.

Even non-OWWA members can avail

Baldoz said the P10,000 financial relief assistance will be provided to OWWA and non-OWWA members to lessen the impact of the workers' repatriation to the current socio-economic condition.

“The financial relief assistance of P10,000 is a one-time grant to each qualified displaced OFW, whether a member of the OWWA or not, to help them adjust to their their communities,” she said.

Baldoz said the grant is part of the government’s repatriation assistance program that aims to cushion the impact of employment and income displacement affecting OFWs upon their repatriation to the country.

The resolution also provides that FRAP amounts released to non-OWWA members shall be reimbursed from the Emergency Repatriation Fund of the Department of Labor and Employment, subject to existing accounting rules and regulations.

With this, Baldoz had instructed the OWWA to immediately put a system so that they can release the financial relief assistance to qualified repatriates through the OWWA regional offices starting next week. —KBK, GMA News

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