Nancy moves to raise legal assistance fund for OFWs to P100M
...says P30M allocation in 2015 national budget unfair

Senator Nancy Binay moved to increase the legal assistance fund for overseas Filipino workers of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) from P30 million to P100 million in the proposed 2015 national budget.

During the plenary hearing, Binay asked Finance subcommittee chair Sen. Loren Legarda to add P70 million in the DFA's budget for legal aid under the proposed 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA), increasing the allotment for such purpose to P100 million.

"Nagtataka po tayo kung bakit ang liit ng budget na ibinibigay ng pamahalaan para tugunan ang pangangailangang legal ng mga overseas Filipino workers samantalang napakalaki ang naiaambag nila sa ekonomiya natin. Parang unfair naman kung bibigyan lang natin ng P30 million na allotment yung mga itinuturing nating bagong bayani," Binay said.

Binay said P30 million is not enough even if the DFA uses up fund balances of previous years. "Itong pondo na ito, yung legal assistance fund, covers the provision of legal assistance to all migrant Filipino workers, whether documented or not," she added.

Binay asked the DFA during the plenary hearing how much it costs to hire foreign law firms to handle cases involving Filipinos. Legarda said legal fees cost an average of $10,000 per case, or P450,000 in Philippine currency.

According to the DFA, as of June 2014, there are 6,002 Filipinos who are in jail abroad for various offenses.

Based on current records, there are 807 Filipinos who are facing drug-related cases, 79 are accused of crimes punishable by death, and 3,407 are victims of human trafficking syndicates. Binay expressed apprehension that the DFA will not be able to aid distressed Filipinos in their legal needs as the department is now short of funds.

"Yung $10,000 eh baka acceptance fee pa lang yun, so paano na ang mga appearances ng mga lawyers? Kulang na kulang ang natitirang pondo ng department para dito," she said.

The DFA said that there are still 201 pending cases involving OFWs in Saudi Arabia and that their budget for the fourth quarter of 2014 is down to P5.4 million.

"Kung sa original na P30 million na budget, 75 lawyers lang ang maha-hire mo for all the cases," Binay said. "Mas maraming OFWs na matutulungan kung madadagdagan ang legal assistance fund sa 2015," she added.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed that a total of $17.232 billion had been remitted to the country by OFWs from January to August 2014.