OWWA offers no-collateral loans for OFWs

MANILA, Philippines -  The government is offering loan assistance for Filipino workers who may be displaced in Saudi Arabia because of the new hiring policy implemented in the Middle East kingdom.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), under the P2-billion reintegration program, is offering no collateral loans for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who would want to put up or expand an existing business in the country.                                                                                      

Vivian Tornea of the OWWA National Reintegration Center for OFWs said OFWs may apply for a loan as long as they can guarantee that the enterprise they intend to put up or expand will earn at least P10,000 per month.                                                                                    

Applicants should submit business plans to OWWA regional offices.                                                                                          

“The program aims to ensure that the OFW’s business or livelihood is sustainable not only in supporting the needs of his family but also in enabling them to generate jobs and contribute to community development so that they will no longer go back to their jobs abroad,” Tornea said.

OWWA administrator Carmelita Dimzon said they have been receiving numerous inquiries from Filipino workers in the Middle East who were inspired by OFWs who chose to return to the country and put up businesses.

“We have been receiving calls from OFWs, including professionals from all over the world, asking how they could avail of our program so they would be able to put up dental clinics or agribusiness and eventually stay in the country for good,” Dimzon said.                                                               

Saudi Arabia has suspended the processing of employment contracts of Filipino household workers to protest the base monthly pay of $400 demanded by the Philippine government for domestic helpers.

Labor officials said the government is preparing contingency measures to minimize the effect of displacement of thousands of workers from Saudi Arabia.                                    The government, meanwhile, has lifted the deployment ban to Bahrain.                                                                                     

After the lifting of the ban, the Bureau of Immigration has imposed a tight pre-departure screening of Filipinos leaving for the Middle East nation to prevent an influx of illegal workers. – With Pia Lee-Brago, Rudy Santos, Evelyn Macairan