Senate to pass P500-M fund for OFWs in Lebanon - Drilon
Senate finance committee chairman Franklin Drilon said on Tuesday that the Senate has forged a consensus to pass a P500-million standby fund for the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in war-torn Lebanon.
The House of Representatives on late Monday unanimously approved Malacañang’s request for the fund.
Drilon earlier said the Senate would immediately act on the proposed P500 million standby fund after the measure is formally transmitted by the House.
He noted that under the Constitution, all appropriation measures should originate from the House.
Drilon said the Senate would likely source the bulk of the P500 million from Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds, with the rest coming from the National Treasury. However, there is yet no consensus on the sourcing.
"We may be looking at a bigger role for OWWA in terms of funding. We note that OWWA already has a budget of P500 million for the repatriation. We will be looking into this fund to augment the standby fund for repatriation," Drilon said in an interview.
"Part of the standby fund can come from the National Treasury as appropriated under the proposed supplemental budget," Drilon said.
Drilon also dismissed the contention of OWWA administrator Marianito Roque that any use of the OWWA funds must be approved first by its board.
The senator pointed out that under Section 15 of the Migrant Workers Act, some P100 million of OWWA funds have been appropriated for repatriation purposes. He said that OWWA funds are by nature public funds, thus Congress can appropriate it for a specific purpose.
"This is a special purpose fund. We are looking into this fund to augment the funds from the National Treasury for the specific purposes of repatriating Filipino workers., which is consistent with the mandate for which the OWWA funds were established and that is to aid and assist Filipino overseas workers," Drilon said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joker Arroyo cautioned the Senate against being rushing to approve the request for the P500 million standby repatriation fund.
Sen. Arroyo noted that about 62 percent of the cost of repatriating 5,447 OFWs from Lebanon was shouldered by the International Organization for Migration and that the number of potential evacuees has dwindled to about 1,000.
"The long and the short of this tragic episode is that IOM, without any fanfare, has spent a lot more and handled more evacuees than our government," Arroyo said.
"What will the government do with the P500 million? That is the question. Nobody asked for details on that. We were just told we should rush this because we badly need it. It is time to ask questions on how this will be spent," he added.
Still, Drilon said that since the P500 million standby fund being requested is in the nature of the Contingent Fund of the President, it may also be used for other purposes, including the evacuation of citizens threatened with possible explosion of Mayon Volcano. -GMANews.TV
The House of Representatives on late Monday unanimously approved Malacañang’s request for the fund.
Drilon earlier said the Senate would immediately act on the proposed P500 million standby fund after the measure is formally transmitted by the House.
He noted that under the Constitution, all appropriation measures should originate from the House.
Drilon said the Senate would likely source the bulk of the P500 million from Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds, with the rest coming from the National Treasury. However, there is yet no consensus on the sourcing.
"We may be looking at a bigger role for OWWA in terms of funding. We note that OWWA already has a budget of P500 million for the repatriation. We will be looking into this fund to augment the standby fund for repatriation," Drilon said in an interview.
"Part of the standby fund can come from the National Treasury as appropriated under the proposed supplemental budget," Drilon said.
Drilon also dismissed the contention of OWWA administrator Marianito Roque that any use of the OWWA funds must be approved first by its board.
The senator pointed out that under Section 15 of the Migrant Workers Act, some P100 million of OWWA funds have been appropriated for repatriation purposes. He said that OWWA funds are by nature public funds, thus Congress can appropriate it for a specific purpose.
"This is a special purpose fund. We are looking into this fund to augment the funds from the National Treasury for the specific purposes of repatriating Filipino workers., which is consistent with the mandate for which the OWWA funds were established and that is to aid and assist Filipino overseas workers," Drilon said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joker Arroyo cautioned the Senate against being rushing to approve the request for the P500 million standby repatriation fund.
Sen. Arroyo noted that about 62 percent of the cost of repatriating 5,447 OFWs from Lebanon was shouldered by the International Organization for Migration and that the number of potential evacuees has dwindled to about 1,000.
"The long and the short of this tragic episode is that IOM, without any fanfare, has spent a lot more and handled more evacuees than our government," Arroyo said.
"What will the government do with the P500 million? That is the question. Nobody asked for details on that. We were just told we should rush this because we badly need it. It is time to ask questions on how this will be spent," he added.
Still, Drilon said that since the P500 million standby fund being requested is in the nature of the Contingent Fund of the President, it may also be used for other purposes, including the evacuation of citizens threatened with possible explosion of Mayon Volcano. -GMANews.TV
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