VP NOLI: GOV’T READY FOR RETURNING OFWs
October 14, 2008

Expecting the homecoming of some 50 to 100 thousand overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Vice President Noli de Castro assured that everything is being done to cushion the impact of the possible influx of said OFWs back to the country.

De Castro, also the Presidential Adviser on OFWs, announced that officials of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) have met to map out and implement contingency measures and plans to address the needs of these OFWs. Said meeting aimed to offer them with alternative sources of livelihood to substitute for the jobs that they lost abroad. Middle East economies where majority of OFWs work are not seriously affected by the present crisis.

In America, as per DOLE report, the more than 50,000 possibly displaced OFWs (who are non US citizens) may come from the said country's agricultural and service industries.

“Hindi natin maaaring basta na lang pabayaan ang ating mga bagong bayani dala ng biglaan nilang pagkawala ng trabaho. Dapat hanapan natin sila ng mapagkukunan ng kabuhayan kahit na pansamantala lang o habang may krisis sa pandaigdigang ekonomiya (We cannot just neglect our duty to help our modern-day heroes after they lost their jobs abroad. We have to find them alternative means of livelihood even on temporary basis or at least while there is global economic crisis),” De Castro told a local TV station in an interview.

The current global financial crisis, if not properly addressed, may possibly affect available jobs abroad if economic activity slows down.

Likewise, the government is exploring and opening new job opportunities in other stable markets such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Guam.

A measure available to would–be returning OFWs is job matching, where returnees would be matched according to their skills with the available jobs in the local market usually sourced by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Another measure is retraining of workers, through TESDA, with the skills that are in demand locally or abroad. TESDA has the full financial support of the present administration.

For those with savings, De Castro urged them to take advantage of the Kabuhayan component of the 2002 Balikbayan Law he sponsored while he was a senator where an OFW can avail of tax free shopping privilege worth $2000 purchase of livelihood tools.

The component was also envisioned to provide the opportunity to avail of the necessary training, also through TESDA, to enable the Balikbayan OFW to become economically self-reliant members of society upon their return to the country.

“Hinikayat natin ang mga may sapat na ipon na magsimula kahit na maliit na negosyong mapagkukunan ng kabuhayan habang walang trabaho. Maganda din ito sa mga may trabaho pa din sa ibang bansa dahil sa dagdag kita ito para sa kanila. (We strongly urge those with savings to start even a small business as their source of livelihood while they are out of work. This would also be good even to those who are currently employed for this could be additional income for them.),” De Castro advised.

“I am confident that our OFWs can overcome this economic crisis as Filipinos are known for being strong and resilient in facing challenges. I believe in the natural ability of Filipinos to still manage to stand out amidst tough situations,” De Castro added.

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