DOLE: Eight distressed OFWs still in Lebanon

At least eight distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remain in Lebanon after the return of 54 OFWs to the country earlier this week. The eight are still in the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) in Lebanon, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Wednesday. "I am happy to welcome back to the Philippines the 54 OFWs. This brings down the number of residents in the FWRC in the Lebanese capital to only eight," DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a news release. On Tuesday, 54 OFWs in Lebanon were repatriated to the Philippines. Baldoz was in Lebanon last week to sign two landmark labor agreements with her Lebanese counterpart Charbel Nahhas, visited the FWRC at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office. "I would want you to go home and stay in the country where you will be united with your families. There are productive opportunities that await you there," she told the OFWs. On the other hand, the DOLE said the 54 repatriated domestic workers are now temporarily housed at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Halfway House. It said they have been briefed on the government's national reintegration program. Baldoz said the domestic workers could join the Balik-Pinay Balik Hanapbuhay Program, which provides repatriated OFWs P10,000 in livelihood business development, skills training, and livelihood starter kits when they engage in income-generating home-based businesses. Such businesses may include cosmetology, manicure/pedicure, haircutting, hairdressing, foot spa, reflexology, massage, flower arrangement, food processing, meat processing, green skills, handicraft, and household care. - VVP, GMA News