The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Eastern Visayas has announced that the have started accepting applications to provide educational assistance for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been repatriated and lost their jobs due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
OWWA Eastern Visayas head Sergio Borguetta Jr. said the region has initiated Project EASE (Educational Assistance through Scholarships in Emergencies) giving 203 slots for OFW parents who wish to get financial assistance for their children’s education.
“This will provide PHP10,000 educational assistance every year for a maximum of four years to college-level dependents of active OWWA members whose employment was affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic,” said Borguetta.
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Reports from the Philippine News Agency state that under the program, only OFWs who are active OWWA members at the time of their repatriation to the country from the declaration of the outbreak on Feb. 1 are qualified to apply.
Eligible dependents include children of married or single-parent migrant workers, as well as siblings of a single OFW, Borguetta said.
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Applicants may log in to dole-akap.owwa.gov.ph for the online submission of the application form and other required documents including present passport, proof of OWWA membership, and proof of relationship to the beneficiary, among others.
“In the region, we have the complete list of all repatriated OFWs here. What we will do is we will also call them and conduct a brief interview, if they are qualified we will encourage them to avail the program,” Borguetta said.
