P2.5B spent as cash aid for 245,000 displaced OFWs — DOLE

By: Cathrine Gonzales - Reporter / @cgonzalesINQINQUIRER.net / 01:18 PM September 09, 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has so far spent P2.5 billion to about 245,000 overseas Filipino workers displaced by the coronavirus disease pandemic. “Talking about AKAP (Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong) program, we have already spent P2.5 billion extended to about 245,000 OFWs,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said during the budget hearing of DOLE at the House committee on appropriations. Bello said P5 billion was previously allocated to Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for the repatriation expenses of displaced OFWs, including the P1 billion for the continuation of the AKAP program. He said DOLE is hoping to have an additional budget for the initiative in 2021 to further aid displaced OFWs as the current funding may still be not enough, citing the large number of Filipinos working abroad whose jobs were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the additional P1 billion allocated by the Department of Budget and Management for the AKAP program, P400 million will be spent for the third quarter of 2020 and P600 million will be spent for the fourth quarter, according to OWWA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac. He said the distribution of cash assistance is ongoing for the third quarter, using cash remittance or the banking system. “As we speak, our regional welfare offices are already working with pending applications, so with the 400 million we are hoping to cover 40,000 more,” he added. “Dito sa Bayanihan (to Recover as One Act) meron na namang allocation doon. Malaki po ang pasalamat natin sa liderato ng Kongreso patungkol doon sa Bayanihan 2, so we are expecting a so-called fourth tranche very soon with respect to DOLE-AKAP,” Cacdac said. (Here in the Bayanihan 2, there will also be another allocation. We are really thankful to the leadership of the Congress. We are expecting a so-called fourth-tranche soon for DOLE-AKAP.) Under the DOLE-AKAP program, a one-time financial assistance of P10,000 or $200 will be given to OFWs whose employment were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed 2021 budget for DOLE is at P27.5 billion, as part of the P4.506 trillion proposed national budget for next year, according to the National Expenditure Program submitted by the DBM to Congress. JPV For more news about the novel coronavirus click here. What you need to know about Coronavirus. For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150. The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .

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