{"id":98687,"date":"2017-04-17T21:26:24","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T01:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=98687"},"modified":"2017-04-17T21:26:24","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T01:26:24","slug":"pres-duterte-back-in-phl-vows-repatriation-assistance-for-ofws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/04\/17\/pres-duterte-back-in-phl-vows-repatriation-assistance-for-ofws\/","title":{"rendered":"Pres. Duterte back in PHL, vows repatriation assistance for OFWs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"President<\/a>
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday, April 17, vowed that government will provide assistance for the repatriation and livelihood of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), as he welcomed more than 100 amnesty availees from Saudi Arabia. (Photo: KING RODRIGUEZ\/Presidential Photo<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA\u2014President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday, April 17, vowed that government will provide assistance for the repatriation and livelihood of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), as he welcomed more than 100 amnesty availees from Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to provide\u2026 lahat ng gustong umuwi. Lahat ng gustong umuwi na Pilipino doon, makakauwi. Gastusan natin \u2018yan,\u201d he said in his speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.<\/p>\n

The Chief Executive arrived in Manila early Monday morning following his state visits to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Bahrain, and State of Qatar, which he tagged as his \u201cmost productive trip ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly before his arrival, 138 Filipinos — 63 women, 55 men and 20 children — returned to the country after availing of Saudi Arabia\u2019s amnesty program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an ongoing program for the repatriation of our distressed nationals. Pinapangako ko \u2018yan sa inyo. Gagawa \u2018yan natin araw-araw. We will have to spend money. I will look for the money,\u201d he said, promising that the OFWs will be given primary importance.<\/p>\n

In addition, Duterte said the government will provide capital for those who wish to start a business.<\/p>\n

\u201cMagbigay kami ng, nagbubuhos ako dito billion. Mag-aral o turuan kayo mag-aral ng business ninyo. Tailoring, mapa-bakery. Tapos bibigyan kayo ng capital,\u201d he said, telling OFWs to go to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) offices in their respective regions.<\/p>\n

The repatriated workers also received PHP5,000 from President Duterte and another PHP5,000 from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).<\/p>\n

At the same time, the President said he has directed relevant government agencies to assist the OFWs as they \u201cturn a new chapter” of their life.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive also recognized in his speech the Middle East as region of great importance to the Philippines.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the home of the largest number of Filipino Workers Overseas. It is our partner for our conventional energy needs,\u201d Duterte said, adding that the region is an emerging source of broader two way-trade and investments.<\/p>\n

According to the President, Middle East is \u201cvery much, more than willing really to help the Filipinos.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said it is the national interest of the country \u201cthat we maintain more than just a good relation, relations between the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the national interest to realize all of us na merong more than a million Filipino diyan. And that is why in every state, and for every head of state that I talk to, ini-stress ko \u2018yan that there is so much at stake here and that we are very interested to say your nation\u2019s stable, trouble-free and a good neighbor for everybody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to the President, Philippines and Saudi Arabia agreed that it is in the interest of both nations to uphold the welfare and well-being of Filipino workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an area of partnership that we are keen on making greater strides,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The President said the government will seek permission for the establishment of a small general hospital to cater to all the health needs of Filipinos, noting that a number of OFWS needs medical attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cNung pinapadala ng mga Pilipino dito sa bayan natin, malaki masyado. It goes beyond, it contributes to the gross national product. And it has played a crucial part in the economy. Importante na babayaran naman natin sila ng kaunti and so if it is, find it, na papayag \u2018yung mga gobyerno nila, magtatayo tayo ng ospital doon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Before going home to Davao, the President went to San Jose, Batangas to visit the wake of 2LT Estelito Saldua Jr.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u2014President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday, April 17, vowed that government will provide assistance for the repatriation and livelihood of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":98688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1482,1145,16,95],"tags":[12570,14387],"class_list":["post-98687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","tag-overseas-filipino-workers","tag-rodrigo-roa-duterte","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}