The national government will not slash the funds for the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers despite the cut in the budget of the Department of Migrant Workers for 2024.

Lawmaker Ron Salo of Kabayan Partylist said the government will not compromise the Emergency Repatriation Program being run by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, or OWWA, under the DMW.

The DMW, whose chief, Toots Ople, died on 22 August prior to the budget deliberations of the agency, got a budget for 2024 that is 4 percent lower than its P16.1 billion 2023 budget.

The funding allotted for the agency under the 2024 National Expenditure Program approved by the Department of Budget and Management was only P15.542 billion.

Under the proposed budget, P3.56 billion will go to the DMW, while P11.98 billion will go to the OWWA. The insufficiency of funds, according to Salo, would however have adverse effects on the agency, particularly with the planned establishment of four additional migrant workers offices.

The four planned DMW offices are for Filipinos in Thailand, Guam, Hungary and Africa, where thousands of OFWs are based.

Salo added that the budget reduction has also impacted the DMW's regional offices, which are currently not fully operational owing to a lack of funding. "We need to increase the funds to make sure that the appropriate services can be implemented and provided in all those areas," he said.