DMW to provide financial, welfare assistance to 17 Filipino seafarers

By Marita Moaje, Philippine News Agency

DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the department, in coordination with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and other government offices, will provide various forms of aid to the seafarers and their families. (File Photo: Department of Migrant Workers/Facebook)

MANILA – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Thursday assured comprehensive financial and welfare assistance to the 17 Filipino seafarers recently freed by Houthi rebels upon their return to the country.

DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the department, in coordination with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and other government offices, will provide various forms of aid to the seafarers and their families.

“The DMW is committed to supporting our seafarers and their families as they recover from this traumatic experience. This includes financial assistance, livelihood support, and access to health and wellness programs,” Cacdac said in a media interview.

Cacdac assured that the Filipino seafarers, who are scheduled to arrive Thursday night, are safe and in good spirits.

“Sa social media, sinabi ko na (In social media I said that) they are home. As far as I’m concerned, they are home. They are not physically home but in their hearts, they know they are safe and on their way home,” he said.

In a statement, Cacdac expressed gratitude to the Sultanate of Oman, as well as to all government agencies, private partners, and international entities, for their successful mediation that led to the release of the 17 Filipino seafarers.

He also thanked the seafarers’ families for their trust in the Philippine government, which Cacdac said, strengthened the department’s efforts to continue working for their release.

“Their freedom brings immense relief to their families and reaffirms the collective efforts of the government to protect our dear Filipino seafarers,” he said.

DMW Director Jasmine Gapatan, during the Tahanan ng OFW radio program over Radyo Pilipinas, said the department would provide financial aid of PHP75,000 from its Aksyon Fund to each of the 17 seafarers, including medical, welfare, and pyschosocial assistance.

She added that the DMW, through the National Reintegration Center for OFWs, would also provide livelihood and investment training.

Assistant Secretary for Sea-based OFW Concerns Jerome Pampolina, meanwhile, said the OWWA would also provide separate financial aid while the Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development would also extend other forms of assistance.