Noy signs OWWA operations bill into law

By Jess Diaz With Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star), May 15, 2016

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino has signed into law the Congress-approved bill governing the operations of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The OWWA law, denominated as Republic Act 10801, defines the functions of the agency, its board of trustees and its secretariat and the uses of its trust fund.

Its principal task is to develop and implement welfare programs and services for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and to administer the trust fund contributed by them.

It is also mandated to protect the interest and welfare of OFWs, provide prompt response to emergency or crisis situations overseas workers may face, and finance projects for OFWs and their families.

The OWWA board of trustees is to be composed of the labor secretary as chairman, with the OWWA administrator as vice chair and the secretaries of foreign affairs, finance, budget and the administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration as members.

Two representatives from land-based OFWs and two from sea-based workers, one representative from land-based labor recruiters and a representative from sea-based manning agencies will sit in the board.

Trustees will not receive compensation other than a per diem payment when attending board meetings.

Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, one of the authors of Republic Act 10801, lauded the enactment of the new OWWA law, which declared the OWWA as an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment.

Angara, acting chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development, said the OWWA would now receive regular government funding and no longer rely solely on the contributions of its OFW members.

Under the law, Angara said the more than 2.4 million OFWs would have a say on where OWWA funds would be used and what programs and services should be given priority.

RA 10801 enhances the current reintegration program of the government for displaced OFWs who opt to return home.

The reintegration program includes granting of loans and other financial support, training on financial literacy, entrepreneurial development, techno-skills, business counseling as well as job referrals.

As one of the core programs of OWWA, the reintegration program will be funded with not less than 10 percent of the total collections from OFWs every year.

The new law also seeks to ensure transparency in the utilization and management of OWWA funds and mandates the agency to maintain an interactive website to gather OFW feedback, comments, suggestions and complaints on existing programs and services.

OFWs are required to contribute $25 to the OWWA trust fund every two years. They will be issued an OWWA membership identification card.

Among the benefits OWWA members are entitled to are those for death (P100,000 for natural death and P200,000 for accidental death), disability (P100,000), burial (P20,000) health care, education and training.

In a related development, party-list group Alliance of Community Transformation and Service-Overseas Filipino Workers urged OWWA and the incoming Duterte administration to look into the plight of thousands of displaced workers in the Middle East.

John Bertiz, a nominee of the group and a former clerk in an auto dealership in Saudi Arabia, said these workers were rendered jobless by the crash in oil price.

They are now stranded in embassies, consulates and temporary shelters in the Middle East, he said.

He claimed that OWWA has refused to assist the distressed workers since they are no longer members of the agency due to the termination of their job contracts by their employers. –