The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) announced on Friday, Sept. 2, that they were still accepting proposals and applications from groups of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) families who want to avail of up to P1-million business financial grant from the government.

OWWA-National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) Executive Director Dindi Tan said at least four groups have presented their business proposals last Wednesday during the deliberation of Tulong Pangkabuhayan para sa Pag-Unlad ng Samahang OFWs (Tulong-PUSO) program in Western Visayas (Region 6).

The groups that participated in the deliberation were Taslan OFW Family Association (TOFA) from Brgy. Taslan Dumarao, Capiz; Barbaza Overseas Filipino Workers (BOFWA)) from Poblacion Barbaza, Antique; Capiz Repatriated OFW Association (CROFWA) from Roxas City, Capiz; and Zarraga Seaman’s Club from Zarraga, Iloilo.

“The Tulong-PUSO program is a continuous advocacy project of OWWA and our Labor Department. This is intended to extend financial grants to our beloved OFWs together with their families. We encouraged them to engage in business, instead of just waiting for remittances from their loved ones from abroad,” said Tan.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), together with the OWWA-NRCO and the OWWA Regional Welfare Office VI (OWWA RWO-6) spearheaded the event.

Tan said they were already assessing the documents of the applicants who will then be required to attend seminars and training once they qualified for the grant. The grant is up to P1 million for groups with more than 31 members.

The DOLE-OWWA Tulong-PUSO is a reintegration program for OFW Groups affected by the scourge of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It is a one-time livelihood financial grant for OFW Groups, duly recognized by DOLE, Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).