SAN FERNANDO, La Union -- The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Ilocos regional office recorded 889 overseas Filipino workers from the region repatriated last year.
In an interview Tuesday, OWWA-1 information officer Geraldine Lucero said most of the OFWs sent back home by OWWA from Jan. 1 to Dec. 21, 2019 worked in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.
“Maltreatment is the number one cause why they go back home, followed by personal issues like homesickness, while some due to illness. They thought working in other country as domestic helpers is the same as being a house helper in the country, but then they discovered the working condition was different,” she said.
OWWA-1 has recorded 992 cases filed against employers, 513 of which have been solved or case closed, she added.
“Some of the OFWs did not pursue the case since they have been transferred to a different employer by their agency, giving them a better working condition, and also they need not be repatriated,” Lucero said.
The repatriated OFWs, she said, were given livelihood assistance by OWWA amounting from PHP5,000 to PHP20,000 depending on their membership status with OWWA.
Active members received PHP20,000 livelihood assistance, while inactive members who paid once only received PHP5,000, and those inactive who paid more than once received PHP15,000.
“OWWA consistently look after the condition of the OFWs with the help of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office which is under the Department of Labor and Employment, to ensure our ‘kababayans’ welfare are well taken into account,” Lucero said. (PNA)
