MANILA – Filipino workers returning from Kuwait must be provided with viable livelihood as alternative to overseas employment, according to Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara.
The government can achieve this through a “clear reintegration plan,” Angara said on Monday.
“There is no better way to encourage OFWs in Kuwait to return than an assurance that they will have great opportunities here – that they will not end up unemployed or underemployed back home,” said the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor.
President Rodrigo Duterte has appealed to Filipino workers in Kuwait to return to the Philippines.
The Philippines banned the deployment of workers to Kuwait amid the deaths and reported abuse of Filipino workers in the gulf state – resulting in an ongoing diplomatic row.
Angara was a proponent of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Act, which strengthens government support to all Filipino migrants.
Under the law, at least 10 percent of OWWA member contributions every year should be used for a reintegration program to help returning OFW.
The program includes employment and livelihood training, access to credit and grant money to start their own business, as well as financial literacy and techno-skills training, business counseling, and job referrals.
This year, P376 million of the P2.876-billion OWWA budget was allocated for reintegration services.
“We urge OWWA to raise this amount if necessary to extend the much-needed assistance to our returning OFWs, especially those from Kuwait,” Angara said./PN
