Villar bill calls for loan assistance to OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - To defray the  family of living expenses during the first three months of his/her absence, Sen. Cynthia A. Villar pushes for providing an overseas contract worker  with a valid employment contract a P50,000 loan from the Overseas  Worker and Welfare Administration (OWWA).

 Senate Resolution 507, titled “An Act Establishing A Credit Assistance Program for Overseas Workers,” also provides that any member of the family of an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), not disqualified by law, can be a co-borrower of the loan and can execute necessary documentation related it. 

Villar said the OFW making the loan must be certified by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to qualify to loan application. 

She said the loan will also help an OFW in his recruitment expenses, including placement fees, documentation costs and plane tickets. 

“It is but fitting to extend our OFWs all the assistance that the government can give, including an exclusive credit assistance program as proposed under this measure,” said Villar who stressed that OFWs have time and again been referred to and honoured as our “modern day heroes.”