President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered to increase financial assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to P1 billion (Dh72.4 million) from P400 million (Dh29 million).
“To ensure that their rights are protected, I order the increase of our assistance to the OFW from P400 million to P1 billion,” Duterte said in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered on July 24. “They are our heroes. They and their families have sacrificed much for the country. We all know how much of the economy comes from their remittances.”
The Filipino Times previously reported that OFW remittances rose to US$2.31 billion in May 2017, 5.5 percent higher than the $2.08 billion in the previous month of April.
The P400-million budget for Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)’ Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) covers services to OFWs in distress, the Department’s website showed.
Under the Republic Act 8042, distressed nationals, who are defined as OFWs who have valid medical, psychological, or legal assistance problems requiring treatment, hospitalization and counseling, can avail ATN’s services.
Last year, Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto proposed a minimum P1 billion to assist OFWs “who are in trouble with the law, who must be evacuated from places in turmoil [and those] who need medical help”.
