A private remittance service contracted by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) failed to submit documents which would allow for the verification of the distribution of the cash aid for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the Commission on Audit (COA) has reported.
According to COA, the list of OFWs who were able to receive the cash assistance under the “DOLE-AKAP for OFWs” program were not submitted by the private remittance service, reported Rappler.
“The audit team requested (for) the weekly and monthly lists of DOLE-OWWA-AKAP for OFW beneficiaries who already claimed their financial assistance. However, AT (audit team) was informed that the required reports were not yet submitted by the SP (service provider) despite repeated demands,” COA said.
Under the cash assistance program of the Department of Labor and Employment, distressed OFWs who returned to the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic shall receive a one-time cash assistance of P10,000.
The report also stated that based on records, the OWWA transferred a total of P999.996 million to the Land Bank of the Philippines account of the private remittance service firm to be distributed to the distressed OFWs.
COA said it has reached out to the private remittance service firm, which sent a soft copy of a report proposing a timeline for the submission of the documents.
