DOLE mulls asking for additional funds for OFW cash aid program

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Tuesday said there is a possibility that it will ask for another round of fund augmentation for its cash assistance program for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic amid high number of applicants.

During a Palace briefing, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the DOLE has received around 450,000 applications for its Abot Kamay and Pagtulong (AKAP) program, which provides P10,000 or $200 cash aid for OFWs.

The initial P1.5 billion was intended for an earlier estimated 150,000 displaced OFWs.

The amount was augmented with another P1 billion to cover more applicants.

“We have paid 145,000 OFWs, that amounts to P1.450 billion so may naiiwan pang P1.100 billion,” Bello said.

“Looking at the application, baka kukulangin ‘yan, baka we will be compelled to ask for more budgetary allocation to be able to satisfy 'yung applications,” he said.

However, the Labor chief said the DOLE will try to live with the remaining funds for AKAP since not all applications for cash assistance will be approved, “without prejudice for asking additional allocation from the President.”

“Approval rating is [only] 30%-40%,” he said.

AKAP is one of the labor department's initiatives for workers during the COVID-19 crisis. The DOLE rolled out last March a P1.3-billion financial assistance program for workers temporarily displaced by the Luzon-wide quarantine and a P180-million emergency employment program for informal sector workers.

The department has since realigned some P1.5 billion of its 2020 budget to be able to give 300,000 more displaced formal sector workers a one-time cash assistance of P5,000. —AOL, GMA News