OWWA allots P400-M educ aid for kin of qualified OFWs

FILE: Personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) assist overseas Filipino workers heading home to their respective provinces during a send-off at the departure area of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 on Tuesday (May 26, 2020). (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA – The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has allocated PHP400 million in educational assistance for children of qualified overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the program, dubbed as Project EASE (Educational Assistance through Scholarship in Emergencies), aims to provide educational aid to qualified college-level dependents of active OWWA members whose employment has been affected by the pandemic.

The project will provide educational assistance of PHP10,000 per annum for a maximum of four years to a qualified beneficiary.

“As the project title suggests, we intend to ease the impact of the pandemic on the lives of our dear OFWs,” Bello said in a statement.

Qualified applicants are dependents of OFWs who are active members of OWWA at the time of their repatriation to the country from the declaration of the outbreak on February 1.

The OWWA Board of Trustees, chaired by Bello, has allocated PHP400 million for the first year of implementation of the project, sourced from the OWWA fund.

“True to its mandate of providing holistic programs and services to the OFWs and their families, the OWWA board has set aside funds to support the education of college-level dependents of active OWWA-member OFWs,” he added.

Interested OWWA-member OFWs may apply online through http://ease.owwa.gov.ph or contact OWWA Regional Offices for more details.

The public may visit the agency’s website to learn more about Project-EASE at www.owwa.gov.ph.