Thursday, March 06, 2008 OFWs hit workers' agency for 'misuse of funds'
A GROUP of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East criticized the Overseas Welfare Workers Administration (Owwa) for the misuse of the P10 billion workers welfare funds held in trust by the government.
"Mr. (Marianito) Roque, in his capacity as administrator of Owwa, since he has been in office year 2005, did not secure the OFWs funds from misuse and did not even develop programs and services that will advance OFWs and their families welfare and protection," said John Leonard Monterona, regional coordinator of Migrante Middle East.
Migrante said the creation of Owwa emanates from the constitutional mandate for the state to affirm labor, local and overseas, as a primary social economic force, and to guarantee the protection of the rights of the Filipino workers abroad and the promotion of their interests and general well-being.
"Despite this constitutional mandate, Owwa was created as a self-sustaining agency where all its operational costs have been taken from OFWs contribution amounting to US$25 each OFWs and without a single allocation coming from the National Government," Monterona added.
According to Monterona, previous administrations including the present Arroyo administration have attempted to divert the use of these funds in a form of investments and creation of task forces presumably to help distressed OFWs during emergency situation and war for OFWs immediate evacuations.
He said among "anomalous" investment where the workers' agency used the funds includes: the buy out of Frederick Hotel during the time of President Corazon Aquino; loan guarantee to Landoil Resources also during the time of Aquino; investment in the Smokey Mountain Rehabilitation and Development Project under then President Fidel Ramos; transfer of P4 billion OFW Medicare Fund from Owwa to Philippine Health and Insurance Corporation by virtue of a secret issuance of Executive Order (EO) 182 devoid of consultations from OFWs as stakeholders of these funds; and the P260 million bogus claims exposed by then Owwa administrator Virgilio Angelo himself just to justify Owwa Medicare fund transfer to Philhealth and the un-audited US$293,500 for the Middle East Preparedness Team headed by General Roy Cimatu during the US war of aggression to Iraq where repatriation of OFWs never took placed anyway.
"Aside from the aforementioned anomalous investments and misuse of OFWs fund, the Owwa Omnibus Policies, this was one-sidedly implemented devoid of consultation from member-OFWs and as a brain child policy of former labor secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas practically removed almost all welfare programs that were previously availed by OFWs and families; what remains available is the Family Assistance Loan and Education and Training benefits," Monterona said.
Monterona said he himself is a victim of this policy when he asked his wife to call Owwa last month regarding the agency's Family Assistance Loan so that he can avail of the program but to his surprise, the Family Assistance Loan according to Owwa staff, has been temporarily suspended.
"I am just one of the thousands victims of this anti-OFW Owwa Omnibus policies implemented under the Arroyo administration. This anti-OFW policy is a clear manifestation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's neglect and disservice to OFWs and their families," he added. (MSN/Sunnex)
