THE DEPARTMENT of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Thursday asked Congress to increase next year’s assistance fund for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) forced to come home amid the worsening conflict in Israel.
The Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFWs na Nangangailangan (AKSYON) fund has a proposed P1.2-billion budget next year to assist OFWs affected by disasters and conflicts, DMW spokesperson Antonio Baltazar “Toby” V. Nebrida, Jr. said in a Viber message.
“It’s essentially a fund for legal, medical or humanitarian assistance,” DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo J. Cacdac told the House overseas workers affairs panel about the AKSYON fund used this year to assist overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by disasters and conflicts.
“We still have a balance of around P780 million [and] we’re working on a catch-up plan for the last two months of the year,” he said in Filipino. “Most of these funds will be rolled over to 2024.”
So far, the DMW has spent about P414 million from its 2022 AKSYON fund for OFWs in need, Mr. Cacdac added.
About 5,325 OFWs have benefited from the fund, including those affected by the ongoing conflict between the Israel and Lebanon as well as the war in Sudan in April. They also helped OFWs affected by an earthquake that struck Turkey in February.
OFWs are given P30,000 under the fund, but those coming from countries under military conflict are given P50,000 cash assistance, the DMW chief.
Last week, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs declared that Gaza is under Alert Level 4, forcing Filipinos to evacuate and come home amid the worsening war.
Israel launched extensive air strikes in Gaza after Hamas militants backed by a barrage of rockets stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in a surprise attack on Oct. 7.
Mr. Cacdac said over 700 OFW families have sought assistance from the DMW.
At least four Filipinos have died in the Israel-Palestine conflict, while two remained missing.
The agency is working with the Labor department to provide jobs for relatives of Filipinos who died from the conflict, he said. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
