Senator pushes plan to help displaced OFWs

The government should move to help Filipino workers in the Middle East who might lose their jobs if war breaks out between the United States and Iraq, Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta said yesterday.

She said the first task of former Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Heherson Alvarez as President Arroyo’s newly appointed adviser on overseas Filipino workers is to beef up the government’s "reintegration" program that helps OFWs returning to the Philippines to find work or earn a living here.

"Alvarez already has his work cut out for him. These pressing problems facing our OFWs in the Middle East should be his primary concern once he formally takes over the post. He could do this job by working on a reintegration program of our OFWs who might be forced to return home or find jobs in other countries," Oreta said.

Aside from a possible war between the US and Iraq, Malacañang should also act to stem the impact of a plan by the Saudi government to trim down the number of alien workers in that country to make way for locals.

There are at least 1.2 million Filipinos working in the Middle East, nearly two-thirds of them in Saudi Arabia alone.

Oreta also suggested that Malacañang raise the P100-million microfinance fund of People’s Credit and Finance Corp. – meant to provide loans for OFWs and their families who want to set up small businesses – and make it available also to Filipinos here. – Sammy Santos