DILG chief to LCEs: Assist OFWs, LSIs upon arrival

DILG chief to LCEs: Assist OFWs, LSIs upon arrival By Doreen Marielle N. Rosales

BUTUAN CITY - The Department of Local and Interior Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año appealed to local authorities to provide intended assistance upon the arrival of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs) to their respective hometowns.

This is in line with the government’s efforts to secure that every Filipino who lives in the province be placed with their families during the pandemic. During the Laging Handa Network Briefing with Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Sec. Martin Andanar on

Tuesday, May 26, the secretary reiterated that the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) Program was designed to provide short-, medium-, and long-term assistance for its beneficiaries. Cash assistance will be given to the beneficiaries for their travel expenses while additional financial and livelihood assistance will be provided upon their arrival. Sec. Año called for local government units to cooperate and lend the intended assistance. “They have been staying Manila and abroad for far too long. This is their chance to reunite with their loved ones,” he added. still a lot to be dealt with in the program implementation. While schedules for OFWs to go home are fixed, those of LSIs are not, which is why the LGUs’ cooperation is greatly needed. Meanwhile, he also addressed the circulating reports on the alleged “sex to pass”, wherein police personnel manning checkpoints coerce women to engage in sexual intercourse for them to be allowed entry in borders. Although their office has not received any official report, he urged the public to report such incidents immediately to hold responsible officials liable.

The secretary added the LGUs must permit entry to OFWs who have completed quarantine procedures and tested negative in the confirmatory test.

A total of 24,000 OFWs were already sent home by the government in a span of three days. Sixty thousand more are expected to be sent home.

While President Rodrigo Duterte issued a one-week deadline for agencies to send home LSIs and overseas workers, Año said that the sub-task groups were told to give LGUs three days to prepare for their arrival. In addition, an OFW Desk was established in every DILG field office to ensure that each OFW is documented and will be included in the assistances provided by the government. “That is a major violation on one’s human rights. Report them immediately to the authorities. I will personally deal with them,” the secretary said.

The same goes to violators in the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) implementation. A fair investigation will be conducted. Those responsible for creating anomalies will be dealt accordingly.

Secretary Año reminded the public to remain patient with the governments’ initiatives to put an end to the pandemic.

“We all need to make sacrifices. We have to keep in mind that we are all responsible for protecting the health of one another. Just bear with us and do your part. Continue to abide protocols. This will have to be the norm for now,” he affirmed. (DMNR/PIACaraga) May 23-29, 2020 | 11