“Darating ang panahon na uuwi rin tayo dito sa Pilipinas. Mabuti nang may pinaglaanan tayo sa ating pinaghirapan mula sa pakikipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa.”

This was the statement of former OFW turned entrepreneur Nicasio Bolingkit featured on the Department of Labor and Employment's website.

After working in Saudi Arabia for 18 years, Bolingkit came home, attended the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration's (OWWA) entrepreneurship development program, and took out a P800,000 business loan from DOLE's OFW National Reintegration Program Fund.

He now runs Manukang Bayan Atbp, a dressed-chicken business in Zamboanga City.

"Overseas employment is not permanent. It entails a lot of hardships and sacrifices in foreign lands," he said.

This is why DOLE is urging Pinoys returning from working overseas to apply for a business loan under its P2-billion reintegration fund.

Successful applicants may borrow up to P2 million.

The loan program, managed by Land Bank of the Philippines, carries an annual rate of 7.5 percent in declining balance with a flexible payment scheme of maximum five years and an incentive grace period of two years, DOLE explained.

Launched in June last year, the program fund seeks to support OFWs and their families planning to put up businesses.

“We want our OFWs to be their own boss by investing [in] livelihood projects and considering entrepreneurial opportunities through the assistance of the government’s strengthened reintegration program," Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in the same statement.

Land Bank has approved a total 410 loan applications amounting to P261.707 million, the statement said.

"These business ventures funded by the loans generated 1,458 jobs," Baldoz claimed.

Borrowers mostly engaged in businesses concerning food production, trading, agri-business, and services, DOLE said.

“As we intensify welfare and protection measures for OFWs, we continue to empower more workers who have sought for alternative income and increased employability through sustainable livelihood undertakings in our homeland,” the Labor Secretary noted.

"This program empowers our OFWs in boosting sustainable employment-creation and increased productivity. With more successful small businesses, it will inspire more OFWs and provide them hope that, indeed, there is life after working abroad," she added. — BM, GMA News