Senator Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian said he will be pushing for a review of the Philippine government’s legal assistance program for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), indicating that it has become obsolete in its present form.
“These legal services that are currently given to OFWs has been structured a long time ago, when we don’t yet have these many OFWs scattered all over the world,” Gatchalian said during a press briefing organized by Philippine Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes, Wednesday, December 27 at the Al Wasl Ballroom of Dusit Thani Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road.
“It’s time to revisit the structure and see how it could be adequate to service all of our OFWs all over the globe, especially in this region in the Middle East,” said senator, who was in Dubai with his family on a holiday.
The Legal Assistance Fund (LAF) was established by virtue of Republic Act 10022, signed by then Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on March 8, 2010. It amended the Migrant Workers Act of 1995 to set aside P100 million for the purpose of which P50 million was sourced from the Presidential Contingency Fund, P30 million from the Presidential Social Fund, and P20 million from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s (OWWA) trust fund.
“I have to study carefully on how the budget is being allocated to the different parts of the world. But for what I have seen, there is indeed a shortage in manpower and budget being given,” said Gatchalian. (Henri Abenis-Macahilo)
