Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara has sponsored a bill that aims to reform the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration so that it could provide better support for overseas Filipino workers.
The OWWA, which was established in 1980, is an independent financial agency that manages the welfare fund of overseas workers and provides services, such as giving loans and insurance, to contributing members.
“It is entirely self-funded through the contributions of its members and receives no allocation from the national government,” Angara pointed out in a statement issued on Sunday (September 27).
The bill will make the OWWA a national government agency attached to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
It will be “vested with a special function of developing and implementing welfare programs and services that respond to the needs of its member-OFWs and their families,” Angara, who is acting chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources Development, said.
“Hindi lamang po pangongolekta ng kontribusyon ang gawain ng OWWA,” he added. “Mandato po ng OWWA na tiyakin ang kaligtasan at kapakanan ng OFWs. Kaya ang sabi naman ng DBM, o ng Department of Budget and Management, at ng Governance Commission, or GCG, ang OWWA ay isang NGA, o national government agency, at nararapat na pinopondohan ito ng gobyerno taun-taon.”
[Translation: “The OWWA will not only collect contributions. OWWA is also mandated to ensure the safety and welfare of OFWs. That’s why the DBM, or the Department of Budget and Management, and the Governance Commission, or GCG, said OWWA is an NGA, or a national government agency, and it should be funded yearly by the government.”]
The bill also seeks to include the reitegration of OFWs as one of the core programs of OWWA, mandating that not less than 10 percent of the total collection will be used for the reintegration program every year.
The bill also provides that the OWWA fund can only be used to exclusively serve the welfare of member-OFWs and their families. It ensures transparency in the use and management of the funds
“Kapag naisabatas ito, magkakaroon ng isang bagong OWWA na malinaw ang mandato at tunay na mapagkakatiwalaan ng OFWs at maging ng buong bansa,” Angara said.
[Translation: “When this become law, there will be a new OWWA that has a clear mandate and that OFWs, as well as the entire nation, can trust.”]
