BY DANIE MAE FAJARDO-DELA CRUZ
MANILA – To assist overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are able to cross from Sudan into safer grounds, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) will have several teams in place composed of seasoned veterans in crisis situations.
There’s an ongoing civil war in Sudan, a country in Northeast Africa.
“We shall be providing direct cash aid of $200 each to the displaced workers onsite, upon crossing the border,” said Migrant Workers secretary Susan Ople.
The reintegration needs of these OFWs will also be assessed, Ople added.
On April 25, Ople left for Cairo, Egypt to oversee the government’s welfare assistance to the fleeing OFWs.
According to the Secretary, the Welfare Assistance Teams are led by the following:
* Undersecretary Hans Cacdac
* Overseas Workers Welfare Administration chief Arnell Ignacio
* Labor Attaché Roel Martin who is stationed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
“These are just initial teams, subject to augmentation as soon as the appropriate visas and travel arrangements are made,” Ople said.
Secretary Ople, in close coordination with Philippine Ambassador Ezzedin Tago and the Department of Foreign Affairs, shall identify the locations of cross-border assistance efforts where the DMW teams would be stationed.
The DMW is also exploring the possibility of getting temporary jobs for Filipino workers displaced by the ongoing civil war in Sudan.
It reached out to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resource and Social Development for this, said Ople./PN
