Tuesday, July 01, 2008 Make sure OFWs get credit assistance: board
THE anti-graft office and two other government agencies have been asked to ensure that credit assistance for Filipino Overseas Workers (OFWs) will reach them.
This came after the Cebu Provincial Board yesterday approved a resolution supporting the House Bill (HB) 161 that seeks to establish credit assistance program to Filipino migrant workers during their out-of-town session in Argao town, Cebu.
The motion urged the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas, Commission on Audit and Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration (OWWA) to come up ways to ensure the program would reach the recipients.
Proposal
Congress recently approved on third and final reading HB 161.
With the passage of the bill, Filipinos who wish to work abroad but lack financial capacity may avail of the program from the OWWA.
The bill also aimed at proposing grant loans to OFWs amounting to P50,000 and is payable in 12 months at a preferred interest rate of not more than six percent a year.
Recipients of the program could use to defray the OFWs recruitment expenses such as placement fees, documentation costs and plane tickets.
Resolution
Once President Arroyo signed the bill into law, Board Member Victor Maambong, who sponsored the resolution, said the program will “surely ease” the financial burden of OFWs. He said it will cover processing costs of their first few months of work abroad.
“With the enormous contribution of our OFWs to our economy, it is only fitting to reciprocate their contribution with credit assistance from government with the caveat that the program… will not be wasted on bogus loans facilitated by persons conniving with the program implementing officials,” said Maambong.
The board member recalled that the program did not succeed due to “irregularities.” He did not elaborate.
In a separate resolution, the Provincial Board also voiced support to creation of the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) which aimed at regularly checking the transportation safety of all vessels in the country.
The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) has drafted an order to be signed by the President for the creation of the NTSB following the sinking of mv Princess of the Stars.
Maambong said the proposed NTSB should be mandated and authorized to “regularly check the transportation safety of all vessels so as to avoid untoward accidents…”
“It is important that the NSTB will call for industry-wide consultation on guidelines allowing ships to embark on their respective voyages in times of typhoons,” said Maambong. (GMD)
