OFWs who came home due to pandemic call for release of DMW financial aid
MANILA, Philippines — A group of overseas Filipino workers who went home because of the pandemic are asking the Department of Migrant Workers to distribute financial aid due to them.
Around 30 OFWs held a protest outside the DMW office on Thursday to submit a petition for the quick release of P10,000 financial aid, which they said was being delayed by the need to submit documents that they said were redundant. They also asserted that even migrant workers not registered with Overseas Welfare Workers Association should get financial aid.
They were inside the DMW complex but were escorted out by guards before they started their program.
"We are hoping for immediate relief from the government through the financial assistance," Arman Hernando, chairperson of Migrante Philippines, told media in Filipino.
"Commodity prices keep increasing, [we] can no longer afford them. A lot of the OFWs who came home from working overseas are still looking for quality jobs and those who found work have really low salaries."
The DMW has a P1.2-billion AKSYON fund for financial assistance programs for OFWs in the 2023 budget.
OWWA requirements
The country’s COVID-19 task force task group on management of returning overseas Filipinos noted that over 3.837 million OFWs went back home due to the pandemic, based on a report dated August 29, 2022.
The Department of Labor and Employment in April 2020 said OFWs whose employment was affected by the pandemic will be given a one-time P10,000 cash assistance. But three years on, many OFWs said they have yet to receive aid.
OFWs said OWWA requirements are confusing and applicants for aid are sent from one office to the other. Among the documents that they have been told to submit are arrival stubs, boarding passes and plane tickets.
Accoridng to the OWWA website, OFWs are required to present their passport or travel document, proof of overseas employment (through their overseas employment contract, Balik Manggagawa online certificate, residence ID, or visa), proof of loss of employment on account of COVID-19, and proof of return to the Philippines (boarding pass or air ticket).
OFWs who have already received aid from OWWA or through the DOLE-AKAP are no longer eligible to get aid.
Migrante Caloocan Chairperson Ellen Rosete argued that stamped passports should be enough proof of their travel back to the country.
Meanwhile, Hernando pointed out that some OFWs have been turned away by DMW.
"That’s why we’re reaching out to the DMW to say that the services and programs of the OWWA are inhumane, these are not just, and they are not enough," Hernando said.
Funds still needed
Inflation slowed to 7.6% in March, lower than the 8.6% year-on-year reading in February. The country’s inflation print rose to record-highs in recent months due to supply chain disruptions, expensive fuel prices, and a weak peso.
The Philippines’ consumer economy relies much on money sent back home by OFWs. The World Bank said the Philippines is the 4th country in the world that received the most amount of remittances in 2022, with $28 billion.
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Many FIlipinos go overseas for better job opportunities to be able to fund their families.
Labor groups back home continue to call on government to impose regulations that would lead to wage increases, but most of these requests have yet to see action.
Some OFWs who went back home due to the pandemic have resorted to looking for jobs overseas again in order to provide for their families, but are finding it hard to land opportunities.
"We have trouble looking for jobs because we face rules on age limits, there's discrimination," Rosete told Philstar.com in Filipino.
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