Govt assures funds ready for OFW aid amid Middle East tensions

Lawmakers were assured by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on Wednesday that the government has sufficient funds on hand to assist overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and support repatriation operations should the conflict in the Middle East escalate.

The assurance was made during a joint hearing of the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Overseas Workers Affairs, where government agencies briefed lawmakers on the resources available to respond to possible evacuation and assistance needs upon the request of House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos of Ilocos Norte.

DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the agency’s Aksyon Fund has P200 million ready for deployment, with another P800 million expected from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“Thus far, the funds have been downloaded to the respective posts and they are adequate. We are poised to download P200 million more to replenish and, as I said, still awaiting a release from the DBM for P800 million,” Cacdac said.

“These are all workable. We have a very strong coordinative relationship with the DBM,” he added.

Managed by the DMW, the Aksyon Fund is a multi-billion-peso welfare fund designed to provide rapid assistance to OFWs in distress. It covers legal, medical, repatriation and humanitarian support, particularly for workers who require rescue or are caught in crisis or conflict situations abroad.

For its part, OWWA reported that its Emergency Repatriation Fund (ERF) remains largely intact and available if large-scale evacuation becomes necessary.

OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan said only a portion of the ERF has been utilized so far.

“We are at a utilization rate of 18 percent as we speak. So that would bring us down to a balance of P1.4 billion,” Caunan said.

She added that OWWA remains in close coordination with the DBM should additional resources be needed.

“We will notify them (DBM) once we have reached the 30 percent mark and so on and so forth, hanggang makuha po namin ‘yung needed supplemental budget,” Caunan said.

Agimat Party-list Rep. Bryan Revilla, chair of the Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, welcomed the assurance that government funds are available to support Filipinos should the crisis worsen.

“It is very important na malaman ng ating mga kababayan na meron pong pondo ang ating gobyerno na nakahanda para sa mga nangangailangan,” Revilla said.

“We understand also their situation there na may pangangamba talaga. Nagpa-panic po ‘yung iba dyan, and we’ve seen videos online. It’s really good to hear na meron po tayong allotted funds dyan and sana po mabigay po ng tama sa ating mga kababayan,” he added.

The joint hearing forms part of the House of Representatives’ continuing oversight of the government’s response to the escalating conflict in the Middle East and its impact on Filipino workers in the region.