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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Senators push for guaranteed full funding for OFW welfare programs

Senators push for guaranteed full funding for OFW welfare programs

Published Oct 6, 2025 04:54 pm

At A Glance

  • Senate Deputy Majority Leader Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito urged Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) officials to ensure that the department's Aksyon Fund can sustain early legal interventions for distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).


Senators on Monday, October 6 pushed for a full funding of the Department of Migrant Workers’ (DMW) assistance programs as they stress the need to give overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) consistent and timely legal, medical and welfare support.

Senate Deputy Majority Leader Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, for his part, urged DMW officials to ensure that the department’s Aksyon Fund can sustain early legal interventions for distressed OFWs.

Ejercito noted that many of OFWs receive government support only when their cases abroad are already too advanced.

“We always call OFWs our modern-day heroes, but the dilemma back then was that legal assistance was limited and they only come when the case is already at an advanced stage, or when a sentence has been meted out,” Ejercito said during the 2026 budget deliberations for the DMW and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas conducted by the Senate Finance Committee.

Ejercito said it is essential to maintain the DMW’s allocations for legal aid, hospitalization, repatriation, and other welfare services for migrant workers.

He also underscored the importance of continuing service projects such as OFW hospitals, special lanes in airports, and lounges, which aim to make government support more accessible.

DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac, nevertheless, assured the committee that the Aksyon Fund remains the “heart and soul” of their department and said that trained legal experts are available around the clock to assist OFWs in their host countries.

Cacdac also reported to the Senate that the number of shelters for OFWs abroad has also drastically decreased.

For instance, the DMW official said the number of distressed OFWs in Riyadh shelters dropped from 500 to 200, in Qatar from 300 to 20, and in Jeddah from 300 to 200.

Cacdac said the DMW is also targeting to further reduce the number of distressed OFWs in Jeddah.

Meanwhile, Sen. Loren Legarda urged the DMW to come up with a concrete plan for the OFWs reintegration programs, especially for post reintegration programs.

“I have read this only in a briefer but I haven’t really seen the impact of this. We know that there are many programs for post reintegration, but what are these? How do we monitor this OFW-assisted businesses? How do we ensure they are reintegrated when they come home, let’s say for employment?” Legarda pointed out.

Related Tags

DMW migrant workers jv ejercito Loren Legarda Hans Cacdac Jr.
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