Fresh Plea to Turn OWWA Bill Into Law in Philippines
MANILA: Senator Juan Edgardo Angara has urged to make the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) Bill into law, following reports of possible massive retrenchment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East because of decrease in oil prices.
Sun Star quoted Angara as saying that the measure would boost the government’s capacity to assist migrant workers who lost their jobs, if enacted into law.
“The Owwa should now be more prepared and equipped to assist OFWs who lost their jobs and were forced to come home. We must help them get back on their feet and start anew here in their home country,” Angara, acting chairman of Senate labor committee and sponsor of Owwa Bill, reportedly said.
The senator added that hundreds of OFWs were not been paid salaries, and had their contracts terminated mid-way because of falling oil prices and political tensions in some Middle East countries.
Under the bill, which was recently ratified by Congress, the Owwa is declared as a national government agency thus the entire Owwa fund, which is sourced through the contribution of its members, should be used primarily for OFWs services and programs, the report said.
The measure also identified the reintegration of OFWs as one of the core programs of Owwa, mandating that not less than 10 percent of the total collection will be used for the reintegration program every year, said the news portal.
The program, Angara reportedly said, included trainings on financial literacy, entrepreneurial development, techno-skills, business counseling, as well as job referrals for both local and overseas employment.
The Owwa, in cooperation the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines, also provides a special loan facility intended to support enterprise development where an OFW-member or their legal dependent can avail a loan of PhP300,000 to PhP2 million, Sun Star reported.