Gov’t to give P30K aid to college kids of OFWs hit by COVID-19

October 3 ------ The government will give P30,000 educational assistance to college children of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who died, were sent home, or offloaded due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. According to Chino Gaston’s report on “24 Oras,” under the Tapang OFW Program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the children of OFWs who are going to college will be given the one-time assistance.

The government has reserved P1 billion to fund the program for an estimated 30,000 OFW beneficiaries. DOLE and CHED aim to start distributing the educational assistance starting October once the list of qualified OFWs is finalized. Labor and Employment Undersecretary Dominique Tutay said that officials will meet to check the list of qualified dependents from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

“Initially po kasi, out of the 500 profiles for instance na ibinibigay sa amin ng mga returnees, nung sinala namin, may mga dalawang daan lamang po ‘yung qualified,” Tutay said. “So we want more profiles to be submitted by OWWA to the Department of Labor and Employment,” she added. To qualify, there must be proof that the dependent is enrolled or is planning to enroll in any CHED-accredited or recognized college or university. According to the latest tally of OWWA and DOLE, more than 200,000 OFWs have returned to the Philippines since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March.

Source: gmanetwork.com