Proposed 2016 Budget Supports Legal Aid for OFWs

(DBM) — In response to allegations that the proposed 2016 budget will not fund legal aid for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Tuesday clarified that the 2016 National Expenditure Program (NEP) provides P100 million for this purpose, adding that the fund will cover legal assistance requirements for distressed OFWs.

This is contrary to statements made by Senator Nancy Binay, who claimed that next year’s proposed budget did not appropriate funds for this purpose.

“To ensure its fund source, the Legal Assistance Fund (LAF) is included in the proposed budget of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) under Foreign Policy Services. Our OFWs will continue to have access to the crucial legal assistance they have always received from the National Government,” the DBM said in a statement.

Republic Act No. 10022, which amended the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, mandated the creation of the LAF, which will provide assistance to OFWs facing charges, litigation expenses, court fees, and bail bonds. The Act further directed government to appropriate no less than P30 million each year for the LAF.

In the 2015 General Appropriations Act, the appropriation for the LAF was increased to P100 million. Special Provision No. 11 of the 2015 DFA budget provides that the LAF “shall be treated as a Special Fund in the National Treasury and its balances, including the amount appropriated herein which forms part of the Fund shall not revert back to the General Fund.”

In addition, the provision states that the “DFA shall ensure the efficient and effective utilization of the Legal Assistance Fund, by expanding the coverage of legal assistance to cover all migrant workers in distress, whether documented or undocumented. In case of deficiency, the same may be augmented from savings of the DFA.”

According to DBM, the LAF appropriation this year was placed under conditional implementation by the President, so that we could properly comply with constitutional guidelines.

“We need to make it clear that the fund itself was never vetoed. What’s more, our continued appropriation for legal assistance is concrete proof of our support for the welfare of our overseas workers,” DBM said.

The budget agency asks the people to be vigilant against misinformation about the National Budget. All manner of funds that the DBM administers are subject to the pertinent laws and provisions, and we strive to address the needs of our countrymen as prudently as possible. (DBM)