Skip to main content

OWWA GRANTS MONETARY ASSISTANCE TO OFW MEMBERS FROM LIBYA


 OFWs repatriated from Libya (after the government raised Alert Level 4 Status equivalent to Mandatory Repatriation) are eligible to avail of a one-time financial assistance from the Agency.  Status Alert Level 4 started in 20 July 2014.


The assistance was approved by the OWWA Board of Trustees through Board Resolution No. 7, Series of 2014, authorizing the grant of Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) Financial Relief Assistance Program (FRAP)  to OFWs  displaced by the Libya Crisis. The Board is chaired by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz and is comprised of representatives from the government, labor and management sectors.

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

“The cash relief assistance,” according to Secretary Baldoz,” is in consonance with the OWWA’s commitment to promote the welfare and well-being of OFWs, especially when assistance is needed most,” she said.

DOLE Secretary Baldoz added that the one- time 10K Financial Relief Assistance is in line with the Department’s package of reintegration assistance under the Assist WELL Program of the government.  Assist WELL stands for Welfare, Employment, Livelihood and Legal Assistance, participated by OWWA, POEA, NRCO, and the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns.  The thrust of Assist WELL is to address the issues and concerns of OFWs  repatriated due to crises or emergency situations and to ensure that there will be life after overseas employment.   

“The financial assistance aims to provide an immediate relief to both our members and non-members who were displaced from their jobs due to the political conflict in Libya,” said OWWA Chief Rebecca J. Calzado.

“Under the circumstances,  ang  responsibilidad po ng ating  gobyerno ay isaalang-alang  ang  kaligtasan ng ating  mga  OFWs lalu na kung ang buhay nila  ay  nasa bingit ng kapahamakan. Ayaw po natin na may mangyari na masama sa kanila. Bukod dito, iniisip din po natin ang kanilang pamilya na naiwan nila dito”, Administrator Calzado continued.  

In addition, the Board Resolution prescribes that affected OFWs may avail of the training assistance on employment and investment opportunities designed to equip them with information on various alternative sources of income.

The 10K Financial Relief Assistance shall be released to qualified claimants through the OWWA Regional Offices.

As of the morning of 07 August 2014, a total of 935 OFWs were extended assistance by the OWWA Repatriation Team. The figure represents the actual returnees who were given airport and other assistance by the Agency upon arrival at the airport.

Repatriates who have no relatives to meet them at the NAIA are offered temporary shelter at the OWWA Halfway Home and assisted with their transportation needs for their onward travel to their respective provinces while the OWWA Counseling Team is on the side to conduct stress debriefing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more