35,000 OFWs in ME get cash aid

THE DEPARTMENT of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Sunday said over 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from the Middle East (ME) have been repatriated by the agency, with about 35,000 assisted financially.

“We are continuously giving $200 to the workers affected, those whose shifts had been cut, those who were asked to take a break — we have ongoing efforts for financial assistance,” Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac said in Filipino during the OFW Summit on June 7.

Mr. Cacdac said the repatriation program has been conducted jointly with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration through chartered flights and government-funded tickets.

He added that the situation in the Middle East has been improving but noted that recovering from the economic impacts of the US-Israel and Iran war may still be difficult.

In the same summit, he also reported that 14,000 OFWs have already been given legal assistance by the DMW.

70,000 OFWs have also been provided with financial assistance under the AKSYON Fund.

The summit was conducted in celebration of the National Migrant Workers’ Day, with 1,400 OFWs participating in the event held in Quezon City according to DMW Director IV Francisco S. Aguilar, Jr. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel