Over 900,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) received government aid during the first year of the Marcos administration, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
In a statement issued last Wednesday, DMW reported more than 911,000 returning OFWs received aid from its 24/7 One Repatriation Command Center (ORCC) upon their arrival in the country’s international airports as of June.
This was on top of the 7,563 OFWs, who were repatriated by DMW from July 2022 to June 2023 after they lost their jobs or escaped from abusive employers.
The department also said the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) provided P320-million worth of livelihood aid to 20,791 distressed OFWs as of last June.
Both attached offices of DMW have developed a five-year reintegration road map to further improve the delivery of such services, which will cover not only the economic needs of the returning OFWs, but also their social and psychological well-being.
DMW also intensified its crackdown against illegal recruitment to prevent OFWs from becoming victims of such activities.
The campaign has led to the shut down of 9 establishments from July 2022 to June 2023 for allegedly conducting illegal recruitment.
During the same period, DMW was also able to file 229 illegal recruitment cases, which benefited 24,233 individuals.
The said accomplishments, the department said, are in line with the marching orders it received from President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to ensure OFWs enjoy ethical recruitment and a comprehensive social welfare protection, which includes their repatriation and reintegration.
In his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, Marcos reiterated the valuable contribution of OFWs to the country’s economic development through their hard-earned remittances.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes