Cresente
Relacion, executive director of the Office Undersecretary
for Migrant Workers Affairs, a Department of
Foreign Affairs adjunct, said his unit has been
experiencing budget deficits for the past three
years because of increased repatriation.
Relacion said these workers are mostly undocumented or acquired jobs abroad without
passing through government agencies processing overseas deployment.
The
Department is experiencing a deficit because the Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration only takes care of documented
workers, according to Relacion.
The embassies and the consular offices of the Philippines
abroad, however, have to be open for every Filipino
in need of assistance abroad, documented or not,
he explained. Because of this, Relacion said the
department dips into its Assistance to Nationals
(ATN) budget as well as in its Legal Assistance
Fund (LAF).
He said they have asked Congress to approve the increase of its ATN budget to
P100 million from P51 million and P30 million from P15 million for its LAF.
The ATN, Relacion said, is used to address the needs of overseas Filipinos in
distress. It covers repatriation, medical expenses, migration fees for overstaying
Filipinos and basic necessities for those caught in emergencies or are detained.
Relacion also said the department uses this fund to provide consular services
such as dispatches, attendance of court hearings, payment of translation fees
and financial assistance to Filipinos facing legal cases abroad.
The Legal Assistance Fund, meanwhile, covers the legal expenses of overseas Filipino
workers in litigation. These expenses, Relacion said, include court fees and
lawyers’ fees. The fund does not cover payment of blood money or compensation
paid to the family of a murdered person.
Relacion said most of the money goes to assisting undocumented Filipino workers
abroad since 85 to 95 percent of those who get into trouble did not pass through
formal channels.
Most of these Filipinos, Relacion added, are in the Middle East, China, and Malaysia.
“The DFA is only the receiving point of the problems. Many OFWs continue
to use tourist visas or go to unscrupulous agencies,” Relacion said.
Because of the general right to travel, international migration has had problems “recognizing
Filipinos posing as tourists,” he added.
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