Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Cacdac said the agency is requesting additional funds to facilitate the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers.
Cacdac said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello wrote a letter of request to the Budget Department asking for an additional ₱7.5 billion budget for OFW repatriation until the end of 2021.
“Last week of July sumulat si Secretary Bello kay Usec. Tina Canda requested ₱7.5B from September to December 31,” Cacdac said in an interview.
The OWWA administrator said that the DBM has released some ₱3.3B on Wednesday.
“Yesterday we received ₱3.3B so we are thankful for the President. This fund is good until the first week of November. We hope to have another tranche forthcoming,” he said.
Cacdac said the government spends an average ₱15,000-P20,000 per OFW.
This covers the mandatory 10-day hotel quarantine, transportation and meal allowances.
OFWs coming from countries included in the travel ban will cost more which is around ₱20,000-40,000 due to the mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine requirement.
Cacdac said some 10,000 OFWs are still in quarantine nationwide. 8,500 OFWs are in 178 hotels in the region.
