House Deputy Majority Leader Erwin Tulfo announced a cash assistance program of P150,000 for each overseas Filipino worker (OFW) returning from Lebanon due to the ongoing conflict.
This information was disclosed following Tulfo’s meeting with officials from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Tulfo emphasized the need for Congress to be informed about the repatriation efforts for Filipinos trapped in Lebanon, as stated by OWWA Administrator Arnel Ignacio.
“Based on the briefing that Administrator Ignacio gave us, there are about 11,000 Filipinos in Lebanon,” according to Rep. Tulfo.
It was learned that apart from the airfare that they will shoulder, the DMW and OWWA will also give P75,000 each or a total of P150,000 in cash assistance to the OFWs, upon their arrival in the Philippines.
OWWA has assured that both it and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) are prepared to facilitate these repatriations with sufficient funding.
Ignacio encouraged OFWs to return temporarily for their safety as they await a resolution to the conflict.
Tulfo confirmed that Congress is closely monitoring situations not only in Lebanon but also in Israel and Iran.
He noted that Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has instructed the Appropriations Committee to prepare additional funding if necessary for repatriation efforts across conflict-affected areas in the Middle East.
