ROXAS CITY, Capiz (PIA) – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has extended its services to the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the province and distributed financial assistance during the two-day Bagong Pilipinas Caravan of Services at Villareal Stadium in Roxas City.
DMW OIC Regional Director Glenda Aligonza said the agency had distributed financial assistance worth P710,000.00 to qualified provincial beneficiaries.
“A total of 20 distressed OFWs received P30,000.00 each through the Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan (AKSYON) Fund Program and four OFWs who were Licensure Exam for Teachers (LET) passers received P20,000.00 each for the Sa Pinas Ikaw ang Ma’am at Sir (SPIMS) Program,” Aligonza said.
She also added that the SPIMS program is a collaborative effort by the DMW, Department of Education (DepEd), and Philippine Normal University (PNU) offering a pathway of employment for the former OFWs who were LET passers to be employed as public school teachers.
Gina Gaas, a former OFW from Barangay Taslan in Tapaz town, expressed her gratitude to the DMW for the financial assistance she will use to buy hens and improve her chicken egg business.
Gaas also shared that she chose to work in Saudi Arabia for two years and six months because of poverty and all three of her kids are in college, however, she returned last March due to her illness.
Aside from the P30,000.00 she received from the DMW, she also received P15,000.00 from OWWA when she returned home.
Likewise, Edmeric Hernaez from Brgy. Poblacion in Tapaz town also worked in Saudi Arabia for almost 10 years in a fashion retail shop, however, he returned home to be with his only child.
Hernaez said that for his 10 years working as an OFW, he was able to build a boarding house that now became his main source of income.
“Gamiton ko ang kwarta sa pag parenovate sang akon boarding house pero ang top priority ko gid ang akon nga puya kay three times a week siya gina undergo sang therapy,” he added as he cannot leave his child alone because his wife died on childbirth and his parents were already in old age.
(I will use the money for the renovation of my boarding house but my child is my top priority because she undergoes therapy three times a week.)
The DMW Aksyon Fund provides comprehensive support through legal representation, repatriation, medical care, and aid during employment crises, among other services. It aims to support the immediate needs and livelihood of the beneficiaries. (AGP/PLF/PIA Capiz)
