DMW hikes financial aid to distressed OFWs

By Marita Moaje, Philippine News Agency

The DMW said that previously, the amount of financial assistance varies, depending on the cases and situation of an OFW. (File Photo: Department of Migrant Workers/Facebook)

MANILA – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has increased the amount of financial assistance to distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and members of their families.

In a social media post on Wednesday, the DMW said that its financial assistance under the Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFWs na Nangangailangan (AKSYON) Fund provides immediate assistance to OFWs or their families in distressful situations.

It also included OFWs who are experiencing an economic downturn due to natural disasters or human-induced emergencies, human trafficking victims, and other ill-fated situations.

The DMW said that previously, the amount of financial assistance varies, depending on the cases and situation of an OFW.

Under Department Order No. 05, series of 2024, the standard amount of assistance is pegged at PHP30,000.

While OFWs who are severely affected and/or displaced due to economic downturn or recession in the host country, bankruptcy of the company or the employer, involuntary separation from employment due to retrenchment or downsizing, closure, or cessation of operation, redundancy; OFWs who are victims of abuses, exploitation, maltreatment, or contract violations; OFWs who are victims of illegal recruitment or human trafficking, including victims of natural calamities in the host countries; and next of kin of incarcerated OFWs serving their sentence will receive assistance of PHP50,000.

OFWs with severe illness, injury, or mental health condition; OFWs who experience abuse and exploitation resulting in physical disability, injuries, or mental health condition; OFWs displaced due to war, political unrest, and/or other extraordinary circumstances; and next of kin of OFWs on death row are entitled to receive a total of PHP75,000 financial assistance.

Meanwhile, the next of kin of OFWs who passed away in the host country due to natural or accidental causes, as well as the next of kin of OFWs who passed away within one year from arrival in the Philippines may receive up to PHP100,000 assistance.

The DMW Aksyon Fund is used for “legal, medical, financial, and other forms of assistance to OFWs, including repatriation, shipment of human remains, evacuation, rescue, and any other analogous form of assistance to protect the rights of Filipino nationals”.

The financial assistance is a one-time immediate cash financial grant given to qualified beneficiaries.

“The request for financial assistance along with the required documents stated under Department Order No. 05, Series of 2023 shall be submitted onsite through the Migrant Workers Office (MWO), or to the DMW if the worker is already in the Philippines, within one (1) year after the arrival in the country,” the DO reads.

Moreover, the DMW said that the financial assistance may be received onsite, or in the country where the OFW works and resides, through its Migrant Workers Office (MWO), at the airport upon arrival of the OFWs, at the DMW Central Office and its Regional Offices, through bank transfer, cash, money remittance, or any other cost-effective mode that can be utilized.