OWWA To Fast Track Assistance To Families Of OFWs Affected In Iraq Fire, Taiwan Earthquake

Upon the orders of Labor and Employment Sec. Rosalinda Baldoz, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Rebecca Calzado will facilitate and fast-track the delivery of welfare assistance to the families of the reported 13 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were killed in a deadly fire in Iraq,

Baldoz, who is chairperson of the OWWA Board of Trustees, said the agency must coordinate with and assist the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in identification of the fire victims; identify the victims who are members of OWWA; and already set in motion the assistance due for them as members. For the non-OWWA members, Baldoz tasked the National Reintegration Center for OFWs to ready its package of assistance for non-documented OFWs.

Legal heirs of OWWA members who die in case of accidents are entitled to a death benefit of P200,000 (P100,000 if the cause of death is a natural cause). They are also entitled to a P20,000 funeral benefit.

OWWA members’ dependents may also avail of OWWA scholarships, such as the OFW Dependents Scholarship Program which provides P20,000 per year for a course leading to a baccalaureate or associate degree in a state college or university. They may also avail of the Education for Development Scholarship Program, which provides P60,000 per school year for courses leading to a four-to-five year baccalaureate course in any college or university; or the Education and Livelihood Assistance Program for survivors of deceased OFWs consisting of P5,000 expense subsidy for elementary, P8,000 for high school, and P10,000 for college (per school year) and livelihood assistance of P15,000 for the surviving spouse.

For repatriation, the OWWA will also help in bringing back the remains of the deceased. The reported 13 OFWs perished when a fire broke out in the Capitol Hotel in Erbil in the northern part of Iraq, Friday.

Meanwhile, Sec. Baldoz also directed the Labor Center in Taiwan to continue providing assistance to the seven OFWs injured in the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Tainan City in Taiwan.

“Our Labor Center in Taipei headed by Labor Representative Atty. Lyn Perez is on top of the situation. She had already reported that she and Welfare Officer Eric Roldan are attending to four OFWs who were injured and to three OFWs who suffered trauma from the earthquake. Four of the seven OFWs are females, and all have been released from the hospital and have established communication with their families in the Philippines,” said Baldoz.

“I have directed Labor Representative Perez and Welfare Officer Roldan to continue monitor the condition, not only of the injured, but also all OFWs who may have been affected by the quake. As of today, they continue to check whether there are any other OFWs affected,” Baldoz added. (DOLE/AVS-PND)