Tulfo: Cash assistance awaits returning OFWs from Lebanon

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) fleeing the ongoing conflict in Lebanon will receive P150,000 in cash assistance upon their return home, House Deputy Majority Leader Erwin Tulfo disclosed on Thursday.

In a statement, Tulfo said he learned about the assistance during a recent meeting with officials from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and revealed that he spoke with OWWA Administrator Arnel Ignacio to get an update on the repatriation efforts for Filipinos caught in the war-torn country.

"Based on the briefing given to us by Admin. Arnel Ignacio, there are 11,000 Pinoys still in Lebanon," Tulfo said.

"OWWA assured us that they are ready, particularly the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and there is sufficient funding to send them home," he added.

Meantime, Ignacio urged OFWs to return to the Philippines temporarily to wait out the conflict and ensure their safety. He added that the government would provide financial assistance to replace their lost wages in Lebanon.

Apart from the airfare, the DMW and OWWA will give each OFW P75,000, totaling P150,000, upon their arrival in the Philippines.

Tulfo, on the other hand, also assured that Congress is closely monitoring the situation in Lebanon, Israel, and Iran, adding that House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has instructed the Appropriations Committee to prepare additional funds for the DMW and OWWA if needed to support repatriation efforts from Lebanon and other war-torn regions in the Middle East.