Villanueva to quiz DOLE on delays in cash aid for displaced OFWs

The factors slowing down the completion of the government's financial aid for displaced overseas Filipino workers should be identified by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), according to Senator Joel Villanueva on Tuesday.

In a virtual interview, the chair of the Senate committee on labor said that almost all of the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) and the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) beneficiaries from both the informal and formal sector have already been completed.

However, only 64.1% or over 162,000 out of the 250,000 target OFW beneficiaries of the Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) program has so far received the P10,000 cash aid.

"Pinupuri natin ang DOLE sa TUPAD at CAMP... pero itong AKAP for OFWs 64.1% pa rin. We wanted to know by tomorrow ano ba talaga ang nagiging problema," Villanueva said.

Representatives from the DOLE will be invited by the Senate committee on labor for a hearing on Wednesday.

Villanueva underscored that the welfare of Filipino migrant workers should not be neglected because their sector significantly contributed to the economic growth of the country in previous years.

"Ang remittance po natin noong 2019 is $30.13 billion. This 2020, if we are looking at the way the trend is going and the experts are saying, at least 20% decrease [is expected]. Twenty percent will be about $6 billion," he added.

On the other hand, the DOLE said it continues to receive applications for AKAP from OFWs in the country and those who are still abroad.

Those who had been repatriated and the "balik-manggagawa" who are stranded in the Philippines due to travel restrictions may register online at dole-akap.owwa.gov.ph.

"Online po ang application natin at once ma-approve hindi na po nila kailangan pumunta sa OWWA or sa regional office, ipapadala po throigh remittance center 'yung kanilang P10,000," DOLE-International Labor Affairs Bureau Director Alice Visperas said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

Displaced OFWs who are still abroad, meanwhile, may e-mail the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in their respective locations. They will also receive the cash assistance through banks or remittance centers, she added.

Face-to-face applications are likewise being allowed in some countries with relaxed quarantine restrictions, according to the DOLE official.

"Tinatanggap po nila 'yan basta ino-observe pa rin ang social distancing. Binibigyan lang po nila ng limit na 10 per hour, by appointment system para po makuha nila 'yung $200," Visperas said.

Data from Villanueva's office showed that DOLE's AKAP for displaced OFWs has a P2.5 billion budget. As of June 15, only 66.3% of it or P1.66 billion has been utilized. —LDF, GMA News