OWWA: Officers failed to remit OFW fund

MANILA, Philippines – The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) admitted yesterday that some of its officers failed to remit millions of pesos collected from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

OWWA chief Carmelita Dimzon said that most of the unremitted collections and unliquidated cash advances were incurred long before she assumed office in September 2008 and that they are exerting effort to collect the money from the concerned officers.

“We have sent demand letters to those who are no longer with Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) or OWWA at their last known addresses and withheld all their terminal pay and other monetary benefits,” she said.

Dimzon said the officers with unremitted collections who are still with the OWWA have been charged before the DOLE Legal Service, the OWWA Administrative Complaints Committee (OWWA-ACC) and the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Under my watch OWWA filed cases… against three erring collections officers… and we sent a demand letter to one labor attaché through the DOLE to remit unremitted collections,” she said.

Dimzon said the Commission on Audit (COA) report “of P107 million unliquidated cash advances was as of December 2010. The amounts cited have been reduced by 50 percent as of October 2011,” she said.

Unfortunately, Dimzon said, a portion of the unliquidated amount was held by seven special disbursing officers who died without liquidating their cash advances.

Dimzon said she has issued a memorandum requiring all collecting officers to make a daily report of their collections to the home office for monitoring and to ensure prompt remittance.

As part of OWWA reforms, Dimzon said, she also implemented a revolving fund system of replenishment of cash advances, which means only cash advances that have been properly liquidated shall be replenished.

Meanwhile, Migrante International criticized the government for what they described as “fiscal and criminal neglect” of the Filipino workers’ rights and welfare.

While millions of OWWA funds were reported missing, Migrante said, the government even opted to slash the allocated budget for direct OFW services for next year.

“This is the kind of thanks we get from the government after bringing in more than $18 billion in remittances. Do the math and get the sum of injustice against the migrant sector,” Migrante chair Garry Martinez said. –Mayen Jaymalin The Philippine Star