Aiding distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remains a top priority of the Marcos administration, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) assured the public over the weekend, saying it has started to establish what may appear to be cost-is-no-object halfway houses in upscale addresses for OFWs awaiting repatriation.

On Friday, DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac took exception to the observation that, compared to the Arroyo, Aquino and Duterte administrations, the present dispensation’s support for OFWs has languished, especially for non-government organizations (NGOs) currently taking care of distressed OFWs like the Bahay Ugnayan in Taichung, Taiwan.

Cacdac told DAILY TRIBUNE that for OFWs in Taiwan needing welfare and legal assistance, the Marcos administration has already spent P557 million through the DMW, or through its line and attached agencies like the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in the territory.

(Cacdac would later clarify that he said they “helped 557 distressed Taiwan OFWs through our Aksyon Fund last year," instead of spending P557 million for them. Likewise, in a social media post, he said that DMW “spend P5 million annually for OFW shelters in Taiwan. We run our own shelter in Taipei and work with NGOs in Taichung and Kaohsiung.” – editor)

In a previous interview on DAILY TRIBUNE’s digital show Usapang OFW, Maryknoll missionary priest Fr. Joy Tajonera, who has managed Bahay Ugnayan for about two decades now, said they miss the previous level of support from the government dating back to the Arroyo administration, which, he said, stopped under Marcos.

While he thanked OWWA for the groceries that came from time to time, he wondered aloud: “What about the big bills?” that OWWA, when it was under the Department of Labor and Employment, helped Bahay Ugnayan with before the DMW was created.

The priest asked where that “regular budget” of OWWA for Bahay Ugnayan had gone.

On Saturday, TRIBUNE received information that Cacdac had sent DMW Undersecretary Felicitas Q. Bay to meet with Fr. Tajonera today, 11 January, in Taichung.

In that same Usapang OFW show last week, the priest called for a dialogue with the DMW and OWWA, while pointing out that the government-run shelter in Taipei can only accommodate one to three people.

Halfway houses favored

In contrast, Bahay Ugnayan currently shelters 27 individuals, including eight cancer patients, two who are undergoing physical therapy for work-related injuries, and others awaiting job placement or the resolution of legal cases.

In his talk with TRIBUNE, Cacdac signaled a shift to the establishment of more government-managed halfway houses, dubbed OWWA Global Centers, in countries with a large concentration of OFWs.

“The OFW Global Center is a dedicated, safe, and accessible hub established by OWWA in coordination with Philippine Foreign Service Posts to support the welfare, development, protection, and social well-being of OFWs in major destination countries,” DMW said in a statement to this paper.

“Designed as both a service delivery facility and a community space, the Center consolidates OWWA programs and services while providing OFWs with a dignified venue for rest, learning, psychosocial support, and community engagement — especially during their days off, holidays, and periods of vulnerability,” it said.

The centers, DMW added, also address the “longstanding need for safe, weather-proof and orderly alternatives to outdoor gatherings, reducing exposure to safety, health and security risks.”

Still, the establishment of government-managed “halfway houses” in prime commercial districts raises questions about whether public funds are being spent as judiciously as possible.

OWWA has confirmed that the Hong Kong facility is located on the 18th floor of United Center in Admiralty, a central business district where office rents are among the highest in the territory.

Commercial listings for United Center show asking rents ranging from about HK$25 to HK$36 per square foot, while broader Admiralty listings place Grade A office rents in a higher band, reaching well above HK$40 per square foot.

The center to be established in Taiwan will be in the same building housing the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Neihu District, Taipei.

In Taiwan, a 2025 market report by Cushman & Wakefield placed Taipei’s Grade A office rents at an average of about NT$2,810 per ping per month, with the premium Xinyi submarket reaching NT$3,480.

“The question that begs an answer is why rent in an uppity neighborhood like Admiralty for Hong Kong and Neihu in Taipei for a halfway house, when the system in place works, in this case Taiwan?” asked Dennis B., a civil engineer working in Hong Kong.

“Why spend unnecessarily to reinvent the wheel when it is working efficiently at minimal expense to the government through NGOs?” he added, expressing dismay after watching the interview with Tajonera.

Some OFWs also pointed to the need for heightened transparency at the DMW in view of the “Floodgate” scandal, saying the agency should disclose how much taxpayer money the global centers would cost year after year, particularly as such facilities abroad are typically funded under broader budget items such as Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), support to operations, welfare program operating costs, foreign post operations, and rent or lease lines.

“There’s too much elbow room when it comes to these government undertakings abroad, so we can’t help people worrying about possible avenues for corruption,” said a teacher working as a domestic helper in Hong Kong.

DMW, OWWA views differ

The DMW’s framing of the issue, however, appears to differ from OWWA’s own positioning in a previous “clarification” that effectively drew a line between welfare assistance and the actual operation of shelters abroad.

In a statement to DAILY TRIBUNE on 7 January, OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan said the welfare agency “does not operate or manage overseas shelters,” including the Philippine government’s migrant workers’ resource center in Taiwan that has been criticized for being unable to house more than a handful of distressed OFWs.

“The budget for the operation of ‘shelters’ or temporary accommodations or MWRCs for distressed overseas Filipino workers abroad, including staffing and facilities, is lodged with the Department of Migrant Workers and implemented through its Migrant Workers Office,” Caunan said.

She added that “the establishment, operation, and management of such shelters are covered by Republic Act 11641 and RA 10022,” which define the DMW’s authority over overseas migrant protection facilities.

This clarification, while couched as a legal delineation of roles, appeared to sit uncomfortably with Cacdac’s assertion that the government had already spent P557 million in Taiwan through the DMW, OWWA and the MWO.

The TRIBUNE has sought clarification from both Cacdac and Caunan on the seeming disconnect as to which agency actually controls the spending and management of overseas halfway houses now being rolled out under the Global Center concept.

“Given prohibitive leasing costs in these areas, government funds could yield greater benefit if channeled toward strengthening existing NGO shelters that already support more distressed OFWs,” the OFW engineer based in Hong Kong said.