Palace cuts by half OFW legal help fund in 2011 budget

MANILA, Philippines—Malacanang has cut by almost half the legal assistance fund for overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) in the proposed 2011 national budget from P50 million this year to P27 million next year, it was disclosed Wednesday at the budget hearing in Congress.

The amount is only a quarter of what is prescribed in the Migrant Workers Act.

Nueva Vizcaya Representative Carlos Padilla noted that the law provides that the fund should not be less than P100 million. He proposed that the DFA budget be raised.

“These are instances when we can show that congressional insertions are vital and necessary especially for our OFWs. They send us $17 billion in remittances, why should we deprive them of assistance?” Padilla said.

Minority leader and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman said the slash in the legal assistance fund violates the provisions of the law.

“Are you going to accept this kind of aberration or violation of the law?” he asked DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo.

Romulo replied, “We will do our best to make representations to comply with the law. We will insist that the law is complied with.”

DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos said the fund pays for legal fees of lawyers hired to defend OFWs in jail, especially those facing serious offenses such as murder or drug trafficking.

In capital offenses, the aim is to commute the death sentence to imprisonment for humanitarian reasons, he added.

For 2011, Malacanang has proposed an P11-billion budget for the DFA, almost P2 billion short of the current DFA budget of P12.7 billion. The proposed 2011 DFA budget represents 0.67 percent of the P1.654-trillion proposed national budget.

Lawmakers, including Lagman, Padilla, and Zambales Representative Ma. Milagros Magsaysay, said they commiserate with the DFA’s measly budget for next year, but wondered why Romulo is not whining.

In his opening statement, Romulo said he fully supports President Benigno Aquino’s austerity program to reduce the budget deficit, “that’s why we are not going to ask for any increase in our budget.”

“In the spirit of teamwork and (because of the) gaping deficit…we abide by the decision of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to cut our budget by almost 40 percent,” he said.

Romulo said they initially proposed P19 billion, which was reduced to P10.98 billion. He said he supports the Aquino administration’s huge funding for education, social service, and health.

Magsaysay, however, said it would be impossible for the DFA to fulfill its role in assisting distressed OFWs and becoming the country’s showcase agency to the world.

“Kung wala sa lugar ang austerity measure, useless lang (Misplaced austerity measures are useless),” she added. –Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, INQUIRER.net