Musa told reporters the OWWA main office has tied up with various local government units in creating OFW (overseas Filipino workers) desks to monitor their constituents who are working abroad.
He said the desks will relay to OWWA’s regional and national offices the problems reported by OFWs, and refer them to the concerned Philippine embassy for assistance.
He noted that most problems referred to them is the imprisonment of OFWs.
He said this and other problems has also prompted the OWWA main office to set-up local desks which will give pre-departure orientation seminar [to OFWs].
“Our thrust is to ensure that our constituents are aware of the do’s and don’ts in the country where the OFW will be working,” he stressed.
Sacdalan lauded the OWWA’s efforts in looking after the welfare of OFWs coming from the province.
“The MOA signing between the provincial government and Owwa is not a big accomplishment, but from there something bigger might come out of it,” he said.
The vice governor said the setting up of an OFW desk in North Cotabato is very timely because the provincial government is giving a fly-now-pay-later incentive to its constituents who want to work abroad.
For this year alone the provincial government has deployed 531 domestic helpers and factory workers in Hong Kong and Taiwan, according to the North Cotabato Human Resource Office.
The FNPL scheme has helped some 2,000 constituents since it started in 2001.
The provincial government has also earmarked P20 million as revolving
capital for qualified OFW applicants.
The qualified applicants could avail of up to P40, 000 cash assistance for documents and placement fees.
Sacdalan said the FNPL program is now on its sixth year of implementation and that the provincial government has already collected some P16.4 million from beneficiaries who are now working abroad. (Williamor A. Magbanua/MindaNews)