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Sunday, April 18, 2004
Editorial: OFW's trust funds 'misuse'
THE complaint of some disgruntled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and migrants right's advocates in Central Luzon must be addressed immediately as this puts the integrity of President Arroyo in a very bad light.
Migrante and some OFWs have alleged that some P6.8 billion in trust fund have been either transferred to another depository bank or to the PhilHealth. The bank was not named but if it is true that some of the funds were transferred to PhilHealth one can not help but suspect that those PhilHealth cards recently distributed to barangay leaders may have come from the OFW funds.
Migrante maintains that those funds have only been coursed to the government and that they are solely for the needs of migrant and overseas Filipino workers.
And whether Migrante is wrong in its claims, the President owes it to the people to make a hasty explanation. Her failure to do so will keep tongues wagging.
Only very recently Migrante has put up a picket in front of the Owwa regional office in the City of San Fernando proclaiming the group's objection to the conversion of the OFW's trust fund into a public fund.
In fact, Rochelle Aguilar, Migrante Partylist regional coordinator, claimed that President Arroyo allegedly colluded with Owwa Board chair and Labor secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas to effect the implementation of the administration's new policy under Board Resolution No. 038 dated September 19, 2003.
"Sa ilalim ng policy na ito, suspendido ang General Financial Assistance Program (GFAP) at limitado na lang ang mga benepisyo at programang maipapahatid sa mga OFWs at kanilang mga pamilya," Aguilar said.
She claimed that the OFWs and their families in the region are furious with how their hard-earned money saved up in Owwa are slowly being robbed from them.
"It is illegal and criminal. The OFWs and their families are the rightful beneficiaries of the Owwa Trust Fund. While the OFWs applications for assistance are repeatedly rejected by Owwa, Mrs. Arroyo and top agency officials are busy crafting measures to gain full control over the funds," Aguilar said.
Digging further into the issue, Aguilar contended that last month, President Arroyo and top OWWA officials were accused by Migrante and other groups of illegally transferring more than P530 million from Owwa Medicare Fund to PhilHealth to sustain the national government's health program of providing free membership to indigent beneficiaries.
Unless the President acts to allay - if not totally erase - the claim of OFWs, their supporters will keep on undermining her vaunted claim that she will uphold the best interest of every Filipino. And by Filipino we also mean those unsung heroes called overseas workers.
(April 18, 2004 issue)
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