LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- Eight Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Family Associations in Pangasinan received a grant of PHP1.8 million from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the provincial government that will help them put up a livelihood project under the Bigasang Bayani program.
Governor Amado Espino III, assisted by DOLE Region 1 Director Nathaniel Lacambra, turned over the amount to the officers and members of the eight OFW associations Monday afternoon at Urduja House here.
The two officials said the amount would enable OFW Family Associations to put up rice retail stores that would make them earn and also give their members access to cheaper rice from the government.
Public Employment Service Office (PESO) chief Alex Ferrer said this was the second batch of OFW associations given financial grants under the Bigasang Bayani livelihood assistance by DOLE and the Pangasinan government.
The eight OFW Family Associations are from Alaminos City, Anda, Asingan, Basista, Bugallon, Dasol, San Quintin and Sison.
The Bigasang Bayani project, said Ferrer, is a joint livelihood undertaking of the DOLE under its Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (ILEEP) and the provincial government of Pangasinan thru the PESO's Bantay-Barangay, Tulong Hanapbuhay Program.
Ferrer noted that the Bigasang Bayani, a first in the country, is one of the components of the Pangasinan Migration and Development Council’s (PMDC) flagship program Bantay Barangay, Tulong Hanapbuhay, which paved the way for the conduct of OFW mapping all over the province.
The mapping led to the establishment of OFW family associations in every town and eventually the province-wide Pangasinan OFW Family Federation Incorporated (POFFI).
The first batch of OFW family associations to receive the financial grant from DOLE and the provincial government under the Bigasang Bayani program were from Mangaldan, San Jacinto and Manaoag. (Leonardo Micua/PNA)
