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Overseas Filipino workers who were repatriated from strife-torn Libya
will receive a one-time cash assistance amounting to P10,000 each
starting next week, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz announced
Thursday.
In a statement, Baldoz said the cash assistance is
under the Financial Relief Assistance Program (FRAP) of the Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
“The OWWA Board of
Trustees has approved the FRAP as one of the means to provide them
(affected OFWs) immediate financial relief," said Baldoz, who chairs the
12-member OWWA Board, referring to Resolution No. 7 Series of 2014.
Under
the resolution, OFWs who were repatriated from Libya starting July 20,
2014, when the Philippines raised Crisis Alert Level 4 (Mandatory
Repatriation) in the troubled African country, shall be granted the
financial aid.
Of the estimated 13,000 Filipinos in Libya, only
about 1,000 have so far sought repatriation, with many deciding to stay
in Libya for fear of being unemployed or underemployed in their home
country.
Even non-OWWA members can avail
Baldoz
said the P10,000 financial relief assistance will be provided to OWWA
and non-OWWA members to lessen the impact of the workers' repatriation
to the current socio-economic condition.
“The financial relief
assistance of P10,000 is a one-time grant to each qualified displaced
OFW, whether a member of the OWWA or not, to help them adjust to their
their communities,” she said.
Baldoz said the grant is part of
the government’s repatriation assistance program that aims to cushion
the impact of employment and income displacement affecting OFWs upon
their repatriation to the country.
The resolution also provides
that FRAP amounts released to non-OWWA members shall be reimbursed from
the Emergency Repatriation Fund of the Department of Labor and
Employment, subject to existing accounting rules and regulations.
With
this, Baldoz had instructed the OWWA to immediately put a system so
that they can release the financial relief assistance to qualified
repatriates through the OWWA regional offices starting next week.