Don’t touch OWWA trust fund – Bello

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has blocked a proposal by the Senate leadership to use the P18.79-billion trust fund being managed by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to help displaced Filipino migrant workers.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd on Tuesday maintained that the trust fund, which came from contributions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), should not be used for any other purposes except for the OWWA members’ needs such as business and livelihood projects or financial assistance for their children’s education.

“They are sending us more than $30 billion a year. Nakakatulong sa ekonomiya natin. Kaya naman, for once, pay back naman tayo. ‘Wag nating galawin ‘yung pera nila (It helps our economy. That is why, for once, let’s pay them back. We should not touch their money),” Bello said.

The Labor chief explained that the government should provide the funding for returning OFWs displaced by the coronavirus pandemic.

“It should be the government that should provide the money for us to ensure that everything our OFWs need would be provided. Why is it, for the first time that they asked for help, they need help, why do we need to use their funds? We should not use their money,” Bello said during a Senate hearing by the Committee on Labor and Employment.

Sen. Franklin Drilon proposed the use of OWWA’s P18.8-billion funds to bring home all 150,000 stranded OFWs and give them financial and livelihood assistance.

In the same hearing, OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac pointed out that the trust fund would be reduced to P10 billion by the end of the year and would be reduced to P1 billion by the end of 2021 if OFWs would continue to be displaced and repatriated.

To repatriate and quarantine 150,000 OFWs, OWWA would need around P4.5 billion, he added.

He said OWWA had so far spent more than P800 million for the repatriation, accommodation and cash assistance to returning OFWs.

The OWWA is seeking a P5-billion supplemental budget from Congress to prolong its fund’s sustainability.