OWWA: We have nothing to hide on fund disbursements

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has nothing to hide as far as its funds are concerned, OWWA Deputy Administrator Angelo Jimenez said yesterday.

He issued the statement as the Senate is expected to begin its investigation next week on the alleged misuse of the agency’s funds for the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from war-torn Lebanon.

"We welcome the coming Senate investigation hopefully as soon as this crisis ends," Jimenez told a media forum.

He said OWWA officials would explain in detail the disbursement of OWWA funds, which are actually public records.

The issuance of PhilHealth cards to OFWs became a controversial issue as the President was accused of using the program for election purposes.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III maintained that the distribution of PhilHealth cards was well within the mandate of the government-owned corporation.

Malacañang may have successfully blocked the efforts of the Senate to conduct an inquiry on the funding for workers’ repatriation in Lebanon but yesterday’s hearing at the Senate on the proposed P46.4-billion supplemental budget for 2006 made room for the issue to be discussed.

With OWWA head Marianito Roque in attendance, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who chairs the Senate oversight committee on labor and employment, saw an opportunity to ask questions and confront Roque on his non-attendance in previous Senate hearings.

Roque maintained that the hearings were conducted at the height of the evacuation of workers in Lebanon but the situation has already improved.

He said that as of Sunday night, all 800 Filipinos who need to be evacuated were already in Syria and ready to be repatriated to the Philippines.

The Senate initiated the inquiry on OWWA funds after Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Al Francis Bichara said that he was running out of money for the OFWs and has not received funds from Manila.

Roque, however, said that the OWWA has spent a total of P142 million for the repatriation of workers and another P100 million is needed to repatriate the rest of the evacuees.

The OWWA attended yesterday’s hearing to defend the P500 million it is asking the national government to provide as a standby fund, principally for the repatriation of workers in Lebanon.

The P500 million was submitted by Malacañang on top of the P46.4 billion supplemental budget. — Helen Flores, Marvin Sy, Aurea Calica