DOLE, OWWA launch P2B loan program for OFWs in Macau

Officials of the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) launched a P2-billion "reintegration" or loan program for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Macau. A news release of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) quoted OWWA Administrator Carmelita Dimzon as saying the special loan project supports enterprise development or entrepreneurship among OFWs and their families. Dimzon said the OFW Reintegration Program (OFW-RP) is a special loan program of the OWWA, in partnership with the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Land Bank of the Philippines. The DFA said the reintegration program was launched at the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf exhibition center on August 7. “Eligible projects for the program... are those that will generate a net monthly income of not less than P10,000," the DFA said in a news release, citing Land Bank of the Philippines overseas remittance marketing and support head Carolyn Olfiendo. The loanable amount is from a minimum of P200,000 to a maximum of P2 million, with an interest of 7.5 percent per annum. National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) Director Vivian Tornea said those qualified are OFWs who are active or former members of OWWA. The OFWs must also have completed the entrepreneurial development training (EDT) conducted by NRCO and OWWA in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) Bureau of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development (BSMED). Tornea she said banks will require the borrower to submit proofs of confirmed market purchases/service order or a list of mortgageable assets, if any, for loan security purposes. - VVP, GMA News