The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) vows to further enhance and expand its programs for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s renewed commitment to migrant workers during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

In a Radyo Pilipinas interview on Wednesday, OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan said the President’s continued recognition of OFWs in his SONA affirms the government’s efforts and challenges the agency, including the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), to further improve its services for migrant workers and their families.

“Sa amin, isang itong kumpirmasyon. Taun-taon sa SONA ng ating mahal na Pangulo, hindi nawawala ang mga OFWs (For us, this is a confirmation. Every year in the SONA of our beloved President, the OFWs are always included),” she said.

Caunan said that OWWA, together with the DMW and other concerned government agencies, will continue strengthening programs for OFWs, from repatriation and reintegration to skills training, education and employment.

She revealed that one of OWWA’s upcoming initiatives is the OFW/OWWA Academy, scheduled to formally open in September.

“Matagal na nating pangarap and OFW Academy, OWWA Academy po yan. Para po yan sa ating OFWs na bumalik or yung iba naman gusto pang umalis ulit (It has long been our dream to have the OFW Academy, the OWWA Academy. That’s for our OFWs who have returned or those who still want to leave again),” Caunan said.

Moreover, she said OWWA will strengthen its scholarship programs in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

She stressed that educational assistance for the children of OFWs remains one of the priorities of the Marcos administration.

“Kasi sila naman talaga ang dahilan kung kaya’t umaalis ang ating mga kababayan, mabigyan sila ng magandang kinabukasan, kaya tumutulong talaga ang OWWA dyan para mabigyan ng oportunidad as many as possible within our budget, na mabigyan ng scholarship at (Because they are really the reason why our fellow countrymen leave, to give them a better future, that’s why OWWA really helps to provide as many opportunities as possible within our budget, to give scholarships and) educational assistance,” Caunan said.

Meanwhile, pointing to the President’s statement in his SONA that more than 12,000 overseas Filipinos have been assisted in returning home, she added that government support does not end once they arrive in the Philippines.

Caunan said that the DMW and OWWA, in cooperation with the Department of Labor and Employment through the different Public Employment Service Offices, have been providing various opportunities to repatriated OFWs so they can find another job either locally or abroad.

“Hindi lamang yung pag-uwi ang ating itinulong na sabi ng ating mahal na pangulo yung pagbalik nila sa Pilipinas at pagbigay natin ng tulong mula sa OWWA, ang ating livelihood at reintegration programs ay talaga namang, nung na mention ng ating mahal na pangulo, nakakatuwa pero nakaka-pressure kasi ang ibig sabihin mas marami pa ang kailangan nating tulungan at mas kailangang pagbutihin ang ating trabaho para sa ating mga OFWs (As our beloved president said, our help does not stop at just bringing them home; with their return to the Philippines and our provision of assistance from OWWA, our livelihood and reintegration programs truly—when mentioned by our beloved president—feel both heartwarming and pressurizing, because it means we need to help more people and further improve our work for our OFWs),” she said.

Caunan also assured that OWWA will continue bringing government services directly to Filipino workers through service caravans overseas and in the Philippines.

According to her, many returning migrant workers are looking for employment or planning to start small businesses after coming home.

“Sa simula pa lang ng kaniyang termino, klarong-klaro na, napaka-importante ng ating mga OFWs at kanilang pamilya at nakatutok ang pamahalaan para magbigay ng serbisyo at programa para sa kanila (From the very beginning of his term, it was clear that our OFWs and their families are very important, and the government is focused on providing services and programs for them),” she added. (PNA)