OWWA waiting for release of funds to pay over P1B quarantine hotel bills —Cacdac

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on Thursday asked for more time to pay over P1 billion in hotel bills as it waits for the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release funds.

In a radio interview, OWWA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said they already had a dialogue with the Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA) last Saturday on the matter.

“Tayo ay humihingi ng kaunting panahon dahil naghihintay pa tayo ng susunod na tranche ng DBM (We’re asking for a little time because we're waiting for the next tranche from the DBM),” he added.

Asked about the timeline to settle the debt which is now at around P1.7 billion, Cacdac said it would be around this March.

The hotel bills came from the accommodation given to returning overseas Filipino workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the assistance from the government.

Cacdac said OWWA has P11.4 billion from the DBM. Since 2020, the government already paid around P20 billion for hotel accommodation. For this year, around P2.5 billion has been paid.

During the Saturday meeting, Cacdac said they clarified to hotel owners that OWWA will continue its payout and that the elections will not stop their payments.

He also noted that OWWA has enough funds to pay its obligation.

Cacdac also pointed out that OWWA has to comply with the government’s process in budgeting which includes checks and balances for the release of funds.—AOL, GMA News