OWWA readies checks for flood-affected OFWs

After a tension-filled face-off between irate relatives of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and officials of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Administrator Carmelita Dimzon promised claimants on Tuesday that their checks are already being processed “as fast as they can." Dimzon told GMANews.TV that the OWWA has beefed up its personnel to process the surge of applications for the P10,000 calamity loan offered to its members. “We are expediting the processing of the checks by adding 15 more people on the ground," said Dimzon, who gave her special task force just under seven days to finish preparing the loans. “My instruction is to finish the checks before All Souls Day (Nov. 2 )," she added. On Monday, some 15 OFWs and their relatives trooped to the OWWA central office in Manila to berate officials about the slow-paced processing of their loans. Dimzon said she intervened to pacify the claimants when they became “rude" to OWWA officers.

After tropical storm Ondoy (Ketsana) dumped a month’s worth of rain in just six hours last Sept. 26, causing epic floodwaters that swept through Metro Manila and neighboring areas, the OWWA earmarked P50 million, from its P11.5-billion fund, for some 5,000 affected members. Claimants are required to secure a certificate from the Department of Social Welfare and Development or barangay authorities that they were affected by the Sept. 26 calamity. But from a projected 1,000 claimants, the OWWA was caught off guard when 5,000 individuals filed for the loan. Although they were prepared for the task, Dimzon said it took time for them to sift through the applications from those who were not qualified for the loan. Inactive members Dimzon said some claimants were found to be inactive members and had discrepancies in their application. “It’s not that we are not doing our job. They have to understand, we are protecting the fund for the OFWs. We cannot just hand out loans that easily," she added. The welfare fund was built from contributions of OFWs, who are charged US$25 as membership fee every year for some — especially entertainers and seafarers — and every two years mostly for land-based workers. Dimzon also advised OWWA members affected by Ondoy in Regions III (Central Luzon) and IV-A (Calabarzon) to follow up on their loans in their respective regional offices. The OWWA calamity loan is payable within two years at zero percent interest and with a 120-day grace period before payment. - GMANews.TV