The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said it will seek additional funding for the repatriation of displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
In a Laging Handa public briefing on Monday (July 12), Cacdac said that OWWA still has a budget until September.
However, beyond the said month, the agency will have to ask for more funds from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) by the end of the third quarter to continue the repatriation flights.
“We have received a replenishment of ₱5.2 billion which will be good until the end of the third quarter. It was approved by President Rodrigo Duterte through the [DBM]. We’re good until September,” Cacdac said.
Since May 2020, the government has repatriated over 600,000 OFWs, while some 70,000 to 130,000 OFWs are expected to return to the Philippines, aside from those who regularly go home to take their vacations. – Report from Alvin Barcelona / CF – rir
