Lawmakers support postponement of OWWA inquiry

Two House members supported yesterday the proposal of Sen. Joker Arroyo for the Senate labor committee to postpone its inquiry into the use of billions in overseas workers’ funds held in trust by the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA).

"We have high hopes that other senators would follow Sen. Joker’s lead to focus first on our workers’ urgent needs," said Representatives Exequiel Javier of Antique and Eduardo Veloso of Leyte in a joint statement.

They said senators should rather have OWWA and other concerned officials do their job in evacuating and repatriating Filipino workers in Lebanon than attend the labor committee’s inquiry into the alleged misuse of OWWA funds.

There would be enough time in the future for such an investigation, they said.

OWWA and labor officials failed to appear in the Senate hearing on the alleged misuse of workers’ funds last Monday. The Senate has issued subpoenas for them to attend its next hearing.

The labor committee, chaired by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, launched its inquiry in the wake of reports that funds were insufficient for the repatriation of workers in Lebanon.

Ambassador to Beirut Al Francis Bichara has complained that Manila was not sending the embassy enough money despite press releases from Malacañang and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that the needed funds were available.

Palace and DFA officials later admitted that Bichara was "technically correct," but admonished him for airing his complaint in public.

In launching their inquiry, senators wanted to know the status of nearly P8 billion that overseas workers have contributed and held in trust by OWWA. In particular, they were disturbed by reports that more than P700 million in such funds was used in connection with President Arroyo’s election campaign in May 2004.

The amount was supposedly transferred to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. at the behest of then Philhealth president Francisco Duque, now health secretary, to fund the health insurance plans that Mrs. Arroyo was distributing in the course of the campaign.

Duque had written the President proposing the transfer, which Mrs. Arroyo approved. Last week, OWWA admitted that there was indeed such huge transfer, but that it was made after the May 2004 presidential election. — Jess Diaz