DAVAO CITY (PIA) — The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) XI has continued to extend livelihood assistance under the “Balik Pinas, Balik Hanapbuhay” Program to distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from across the region in time for the holiday season.
Recently OWWA XI turned over to 60 distressed OFWs from the different municipalities in the region the financial assistance as start up or additional capital for their chosen livelihood project.
The Balik Pinas, Balik Hanapbuhay Program is a package of livelihood support/assistance amounting to a maximum P20,000 intended to provide immediate relief to returning member-OFWs who are distressed/displaced.
On its social media post, OWWA XI stated that the program aims to empower distressed OFWs who have returned home for good, equipping them with sustainable means to support their families and reintegrate into their communities.
Qualified distressed OFWs in the region are encouraged to apply for the “Balik Pinas, Balik Hanapbuhay” Program. They are also advised to contact the OWWA XI through hotline numbers 09516578812 or their office located at the Lynjun Alegre-Sardido Bldg., Candelaria St., Ecoland, Davao City.
Also part of the assistance provided in December was the facilitation of the arrival of the remains the OFWs who died due to illness. They worked as a domestic worker in Oman and a lumberjack in Suriname.
The OWWA XI repatriation team turned over the remains to their respective families and facilitated their transportation to their residences.
In its “Pamaskong Handog sa OFWs” program, the agency in the region has also offered presents for those returning OFWs who went home to spend the holiday season with their families and loved ones.
Starting December 19, OWWA XI has given away through raffle draws a total of P220,000 to 22 lucky OFWs and 300 Christmas bags to arriving OFWs at the Davao International Airport.
“The activity was a remarkable symbol of family reunification and a mark of the potential reintegration of the OFWs and their families as they feel the warmth of love, security and belongingness in their own country,” OWWA XI stated.
Christmas carols performed by the members of the Mindanao Association for the Blind of the Philippines, Inc. welcomed and greeted the returning OFWs from Hongkong at the Davao International Airport.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Region XI has also given away umbrellas to add more joy to the arriving OFWs. (CLC/PIA Davao/OWWA XI)
