President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the release of an additional P3 billion to boost government efforts on repatriation and reintegration programs for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from the Middle East.
Additional funds for repatriation chain
In a statement, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said the additional funds are aimed to augment the repatriation chain, from post-departure assistance, to flights, to reintegration. “War or not, there are Filipinos in extreme distress that we should bring home,” he said.
Recto said Marcos topped up the OFW assistance fund because he does not want repatriation to be a mere airport-to-airport thing.
10,446 Filipinos safely returned
As of June 17, 10,446 Filipinos from the conflict-torn region have been safely returned home through government humanitarian flights organized and led by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). Of the returnees, 8,281 were OFWs along with their 1,803 dependents, while 362 were stranded citizens.
Upon their arrival, they are entitled to a standard welcome package, which includes “financial assistance, psychosocial counseling, medical assessment, reemployment guidance, livelihood.” An OFW can receive as much as P20,000 as a small business start-up assistance.
Medical support and job fairs
“If you will recall, these flights became medevacs for sick Filipinos as well. The DMW, through the brilliant leadership of Secretary Hans Cacdac, brought medical personnel on board to care for them,” Recto said.
“Ang utos n'ya (Marcos) ay hindi pwedeng paglapag dito, bahala na kayo. Ang gusto ng Pangulo, may hatid sa probinsya sa lubhang nangangailangan, at higit sa lahat mga economic opportunities,” he added.
The DMW also holds job fairs to open gates for work opportunities, livelihood support, and financial literacy programs, among other services for returning OFWs.
