Senate urged to scrutinize OWWA investments

The Senate opposition bloc is pressing for an immediate scrutiny into the reported P1.2-billion "bad" investments of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Sen. Edgardo Angara said yesterday.

The inquiry, Angara said in a statement, is vital as the government needs to raise money to assist thousands of distressed overseas Filipino workers.

The Senate minority, he said, has filed Senate Resolution 330 seeking the creation of an ad hoc committee on government trust funds.

Sponsoring the resolution were opposition Senators Rodolfo Biazon, Tessie Aquino-Oreta, Luisa Ejercito-Estrada, Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, Sergio Osmeña III, Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Vicente Sotto III.

The resolution states that government trust funds, specifically the allegedly mismanaged OWWA trust fund, should be scrutinized in the hope of instituting reforms on how they should be handled.

Roughly P1.2 billion in OWWA funds, Angara said, have been "squandered in a failed investment scheme."

"Mismanaging the OWWA funds is a mortal government offense (since the money) represents the blood and sweat of our overseas Filipino workers," he said.

Angara said the use of OWWA trust funds should be thoroughly reviewed and approved by the agency’s board of trustees.

The inquiry into the OWWA trust fund was prompted by two recent events, both involving contingencies for overseas Filipino workers.

The first is the brewing tension in the Middle East over the war posture of the United States against Iraq, which could displace hundreds of thousands of Filipino workers throughout the region.

The second is the ongoing mass deportation of undocumented Filipinos from the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah.

Angara said the national government should provide full assistance to all overseas Filipino workers, especially during these contingencies. — Sammy Santos