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Manila Bulletin devider devider Recto appeals for 'prompt care' for Kuwait OFWs

Recto appeals for 'prompt care' for Kuwait OFWs

Published Feb 12, 2018 03:51 pm
By Vanne Elaine Terrazola Senator Ralph Recto called on the government to provide "prompt care" to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Kuwait, citing their contribution to the country. About 260 repatriated OFWs from kuwait arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City aboard Philippine Airline yesterday. A five thousand pesos financial assistance is given to each. (Photo by Ali Vicoy/Manila Bulletin) About 260 repatriated OFWs from Kuwait arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City aboard Philippine Airline Feb 11.2018. (Photo by Ali Vicoy/Manila Bulletin) Recto made the appeal Monday as distressed Filipino workers in Kuwait began returning over the weekend, following President Duterte's appeal amid the deaths of Pinay OFWs in the Gulf state. The Senate President Pro-Tempore said it is only fitting for the government to assist OFWs in Kuwait considering their billions of remittances to the country. “Hindi barya-barya ang ipinapadala nila sa atin. It helps keep our economy afloat. Pawis, luha, at dugo ang puhunan nila. We are under obligation to reciprocate this sacrifice with prompt care,” Recto said in a statement. Recto, for instance, said the quarter of a million Filipinos in Kuwait sent home P40.6 billion last year. He said that such amount, if they were a company, would outrun gross revenues of business giants in the Philippines and would have ranked them the Philippines’ 37th biggest in terms of gross revenues, he noted. The remittances were also larger than the "income tax paid by police, teachers, and officials of state colleges and universities altogether." Recto likewise noted that the amount they sent last year was "40 times bigger" than the government’s Assistance to Nationals Fund for 2018 which amounted to P1 billion. The Assistance to Nationals Fund is what the Department of Foreign Affairs uses in aiding and expatriating OFWs in distress. “This financial contribution to their homeland makes them deserving of government care, whether repatriation or legal help if they are still there, and employment and livelihood assistance once they are home for good,” Recto said. A Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed that cash remittance of Filipinos in Kuwait reached $735.23 million for the period of January to November 2017. It was $856.7 million in 2016, up from $617.6 million in 2015. The three-year total, using peso-dollar exchange average in those years, would be P105 billion, Recto said.
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