MANILA, Philippines – The government is offering loan assistance for Filipino workers who may be displaced in Saudi Arabia because of the new hiring policy implemented in the Middle East kingdom.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), under the P2-billion reintegration program, is offering no collateral loans for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who would want to put up or expand an existing business in the country.
Vivian Tornea of the OWWA National Reintegration Center for OFWs said OFWs may apply for a loan as long as they can guarantee that the enterprise they intend to put up or expand will earn at least P10,000 per month.
Applicants should submit business plans to OWWA regional offices.
“The program aims to ensure that the OFW’s business or livelihood is sustainable not only in supporting the needs of his family but also in enabling them to generate jobs and contribute to community development so that they will no longer go back to their jobs abroad,” Tornea said.
OWWA administrator Carmelita Dimzon said they have been receiving numerous inquiries from Filipino workers in the Middle East who were inspired by OFWs who chose to return to the country and put up businesses.
“We have been receiving calls from OFWs, including professionals from all over the world, asking how they could avail of our program so they would be able to put up dental clinics or agribusiness and eventually stay in the country for good,” Dimzon said.
Saudi Arabia has suspended the processing of employment contracts of Filipino household workers to protest the base monthly pay of $400 demanded by the Philippine government for domestic helpers.
Labor officials said the government is preparing contingency measures to minimize the effect of displacement of thousands of workers from Saudi Arabia. The government, meanwhile, has lifted the deployment ban to Bahrain.
After the lifting of the ban, the Bureau of Immigration has imposed a tight pre-departure screening of Filipinos leaving for the Middle East nation to prevent an influx of illegal workers. –-Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star) with Pia Lee-Brago, Rudy Santos, Evelyn Macairan
July 2025
Nutrition Month
“Give us much more than P50 increase
for proper nutrition!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos
July
3 July – International Day of Cooperatives
3 July – International Plastic Bag Free Day
5 July – World Youth Skills Day
7 July – Global Forgiveness Day
11 July – World Population Day
17 July – World Day for International Justice
28 July – World Nature Conservation Day
30 July – World Day against Trafficking in Persons
Monthly Observances:
Schools Safety Month
Nutrition Month
National Disaster Consciousness Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 2: Cultural Communities Week
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise
Development Week
Week 3: National Science and
Technology Week
National Disability Prevention and
Rehabilitation Week
July 1-7:
National Culture Consciousness Week
July 13-19:
Philippines Business Week
Week ending last Saturday of July:
Arbor Week
Daily Observances:
First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
