ILOILO — Ninety-six overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Iloilo received a combined P3.1 million in financial assistance, providing returning and distressed migrant workers with fresh capital and emergency support as they rebuild their livelihoods and reintegrate with their families and communities.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Region 6 released the P3,100,000 assistance on Sept. 14, tapping three social protection and reintegration programs designed to help OFWs facing displacement, financial hardship, illness and other difficulties.
The payout formed part of the nationwide Handog ng Pangulo: Serbisyong Sapat Para sa Lahat caravan held in conjunction with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s birthday outreach activities.
The assistance was coursed through OWWA’s Balik-Pinas! Balik-Hanapbuhay! (BPBH), Welfare Assistance Program (WAP), and Tulong PUSO, which address different needs of migrant workers and their families.
Under BPBH, distressed or displaced returning OFWs may receive up to P20,000 in start-up capital to establish small businesses and generate income after returning to the Philippines.
The WAP, meanwhile, provides targeted financial assistance to active and former OWWA members dealing with medical illness, permanent disability or the death of a family breadwinner.
Tulong PUSO, or Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Pag-unlad ng Samahang OFWs, provides enterprise funding to accredited OFW organizations seeking to establish or expand community-based businesses.
Beyond financial assistance, OWWA RWO VI brought together several government agencies to give OFWs access to skills development, trade opportunities and social security benefits.
Participating agencies included the Department of Migrant Workers, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Trade and Industry, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and local government units.
OWWA also extended the initiative beyond Iloilo through simultaneous check-release operations across Western Visayas.
Field teams processed ready-for-release claims in Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Guimaras, as well as the Negros Island Region, widening access to assistance for OFWs unable to participate in the main Iloilo activity.
The agency stressed that its assistance to migrant workers would continue beyond the special nationwide caravan, with regular social protection, repatriation and reintegration programs remaining available to qualified beneficiaries.
“OWWA remains fully committed to serving all eligible OFWs through its regular programs and services, extending assistance beyond the activity. As we roll out the Handog ng Pangulo across Western Visayas, we carry with us the same goal — to bring hope, care, and the government’s support closer to more OFW families across the region,” the agency stated./PN
