ROXAS CALLS ON DOLE, OWWA TO PARTNER WITH
PRIVATE SECTOR ON REINTEGRATION OF OFWs

With the Presidents instructions to evacuate all Filipinos from Lebanon, the government must now also start preparing for a massive reintegration program for the returning OFWs.

This was the position taken by Senator Mar Roxas who said the situation in Lebanon requires thorough planning and teamwork to ensure that the workers are taken cared of from Beirut to Manila and onwards to their respective provinces and hometowns.

I call on the OWWA to set aside funds for reintegration services and activities which is really part of its mandate and to draw on the private sector for support and expertise in coming up with an effective program for our OFWs from Lebanon, the senator said.

Senator Roxas, chair of the Senate economic affairs committee, noted that the private sector could be tapped to help in the governments reintegration program.

He added that the government must also prepared to help our OFWs get back on their feet not only through loans but also through social services and medical attention to those suffering from war trauma.

These workers deserve a break to catch their breath and take stock of their future. The best way to help them is by empowering their families to look for alternative incomes through livelihood or employment, Senator Roxas pointed out.

He stressed that aside from offering loans and livelihood skills training, OWWAs reintegration program should also give special attention to OFWs who suffered a great deal of abuse at the hands of their employers.

We are quick to lionize them as modern heroes. Now is the time to help them survive a sudden loss of income, the trauma of war, and the daunting task of starting once more from ground zero in eking a living for the family, Roxas said.