Pinoys returning from Ebola-hit countries to get livelihood aid

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino workers returning from Ebola-hit countries can avail themselves of livelihood and other government assistance after completing their 21-day quarantine, an official said yesterday.

Administrator Rebecca Calzado said the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is providing assistance to workers returning from West Africa.

They can choose from an array of OWWA programs, including welfare, employment, and livelihood assistance, she added.

Calzado said under the livelihood assistance program, returning workers are provided entrepreneurial development training; livelihood skills training; hands-on business mentoring and support.

Returning workers can also avail of business loan assistance under the P2-B Reintegration Loan Fund for OWWA members and Balik-Pinay, Balik-Hanapbuhay for distressed OFWs and the P10-K Livelihood Assistance for non-documented workers, she added.

OWWA is prepared to provide job placement or referral for local employment or overseas employment, she added.

Calzado said OWWA can also provide competency assessment and certification for repatriated workers who wish to confirm that they possess the competencies required in a preferred workplace.

“We will be providing them with information on what services they can avail of even while they are still on quarantine,” she said.

Calzado said OWWA did not provide airport assistance because the Bureau of Quarantine (BQ) had welcomed the workers. However, OWWA provided the television sets, board games, cards and DVDs for the use of the returning workers during their 21-day mandatory quarantine, she added.

An estimated 900 Filipinos are working in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone in West Africa. Most of them are employed in the mining, teaching, construction, and service sectors.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has ordered a total deployment ban in the three Ebola-hit countries.