The Senate has adopted Minority Leader Ralph Recto’s proposal for the creation of a P100-million “emergency repatriation fund” in the national budget to be used by the Labor secretary to bring home distressed OFWs next year.
Recto, however, challenged administration lawmakers to raise the amount as there are many more “out-of-luck and out-of-cash” Filipino workers abroad waiting to be reunited with their families in the Philippines.
The P3.35 trillion 2017 national budget is still being hammered out by a House-Senate conference panel that will reconcile the two chambers’ differing provisions.
The Php100-million fund, he stressed, should just be “a component of a bigger help fund for OFWs,” which “must reach at least Php1.5 billion,” or 300 percent bigger than what Malacañang has proposed for 2017.
For 2017, the Duterte administration has asked Congress to allocate Php50 million, to be lodged under the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment, for OFW repatriation.
This is on top of the Php31 million to be set aside by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration for the same purpose.
Over at the Department of Foreign Affairs, its proposed Assistance to Nationals (ATN) Fund for 2017 is Php400 million, the same as this year’s.
Augmenting the DFA’s ATN is the Legal Assistance Fund, which will have a proposed funding of Php100 million, the same for 2016.
”If all these will be combined, there is only Php580 million. It’s not really enough for the need of our OFWs who need to be repatriated,” Recto pointed out.
Recto said the 2017 OFW aid fund is “mere four hours’ worth” of all OFW remittances, using as basis the USD28.48 billion overseas Filipinos sent home last year. “It has grown by 12.3 percent since 2013, but the OFW help fund has remained flat.”
In local currency, last year’s OFW remittances reached Php1.3 trillion, or more than a tenth of the Gross Domestic Product.
Recto said Congress needs to find other sources for OFW repatriation since OWWA spends only 69 centavos, or less than one percent, for repatriation out of every P100 that the agency collects from OFWs.
Citing a Commission on Audit report, Recto noted that OWWA “issued a measly 119 plane tickets for repatriated OFWs last year.”
This, despite OWWA spending almost Php1.8 billion in 2015, of which Php17 million was for the purchase of the 119 airline tickets.
Departing OFWs are required to pay a membership contribution of USD25 or its local currency equivalent on a per contract basis, but shall not exceed two years. The same amount shall be paid upon renewal of membership in succeeding years.(PNA)
