DOLE expediting release of cash aid for returning OFWs

MANILA, Philippines — Displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are now spared from the long wait for government relief as the process to apply for cash aid has been streamlined so they can claim it within three to five days.

“Starting Nov. 30, OFWs who will be repatriated to the Philippines may file their AKAP application prior to their arrival in the country, and receive their benefits within three to five days upon submission of complete documents,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said over the weekend.

Bello was referring to the one-time financial assistance, dubbed AKAP or Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong, amounting to P10,000 (or $200) extended to OFWs adversely affected by the coronavirus disease pandemic.

He said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has disbursed almost P3.5 billion for the grants to permanently or temporarily displaced OFWs wherever they are in the world.

The DOLE is set to disburse an additional P2 billion in AKAP grants provided under the Bayanihan 2 law “this time, in a more expeditious manner” to some 200,000 OFWs, said Bello.

Under the new system, Bello said all new applications for AKAP will be accepted through the website oasis.owwa.gov.ph for displaced OFWs who are scheduled for repatriation.

The new system will allow the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) offices to process and evaluate the applications in advance.

“This will shorten the waiting period of OFW applicants as they are now allowed to apply while still onsite and receive the financial assistance once they come back home to the Philippines,” Bello said.

For OFWs who have been and will be repatriated before today (Nov. 30), Bello said applications must still be filed through dole-akap.owwa.gov.ph.

Those who will remain onsite may file their application through the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) covering their workplace, the DOLE said.

Since the implementation of AKAP last April, the DOLE and OWWA have approved a total of 389,996 applications and disbursed P3.45 billion to 338,900 distressed OFWs as of Nov. 28.

To date, the AKAP program has received 683,369 applications.

Meanwhile, DOLE distributed over P19 million worth of assistance to 3,606 informal sector workers and OFWs in Pangasinan.— Rudy Santos, Richmond Mercurio