THE Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) may finally get this week it’s much-needed P5.2-billion additional budget to continue extending quarantine accommodations to repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFW) until the end of the year.
In an online press briefing on Monday, OWWA Administrator Hans J. Cacdac said they are now working with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the release of the amount.
While the budget committed by the DBM is significantly lower compared to their requested sum of P9.8 billion, it will be enough, he said, to allow them to continue extending quarantine accommodations to OFWs until the fourth quarter.
“Our estimate is that expenses will be at a little less than one billion pesos a month,” Cacdac said.
OWWA asked for the additional funding because it is expected to spend its P11-billion budget for OFW accommodations this month, following the new government policy to extend the quarantine period of inbound travelers. Once that is depleted and the budget office does not provide replenishment, Cacdac had warned, the OWWA would be forced to dip into its trust fund.
Initially, OFWs were allowed to go home after one to two days from their arrival or as they get the result of their swab test.
This was later changed and government required them to wait for five days in accommodations provided by OWWA before getting tested for Covid-19—a policy based on health authorities’ findings that giving Covid tests immediately on arrival does not result in virus detection.
The new policy required OFWs to stay in OWWA-provided accommodations from six to seven days, hastening the depletion of the government funds for it.
Cacdac said they may ask yet for more funding from DBM under the new government protocols requiring OFWs to stay for at least 10 days in quarantine facilities before they can go home.
“Currently, there are 9,300 repatriated OFWs staying in 160 hotels. This was lower compared to 9,500 three weeks ago. We are now feeling the increase [in the number of OFWs, who need quarantine accommodations],” Cacdac said.
He said they hope the number of arriving OFWs will “stabilize” to 9,000 to 9,500 so they could continue providing them sufficient accommodation with their limited funds.