Bulk of OFW funds goes to OWWA executives – official

The bulk of membership fees paid by overseas Filipino workers to the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration (OWWA) goes towards the salaries of overpaid agency executives with only a small portion being channelled for the benefit of OFWs, a labour department official said.

Labour Undersecretary Manuel Simon in a press briefing said about P50 million OWWA's funds generated from the $25 membership fee charged for each OFW only goes to the allowances and work benefits of some 500 OWWA employees. Simon said this is the reason why only a small amount of the funds generated by the OWWA is actually spent on providing benefits to OFWs.

"Labour Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas saw the slight increase of the capital fund which is used for OFW benefits and investments by the OWWA. It was only one per cent. The needed minimal level of growth to survive the risk and benefit funds for overseas workers was supposed to be at 10 per cent," says Imson.

Santo Tomas added the OWWA employees receive about 150 per cent more than the average government employee. "The OWWA administrator even gets more than the labour secretary and undersecretary, and his salary is equivalent to the president."

The president of the Philippines receives a monthly pay of about $1,000. Each worker receives an estimated $2,000 a year in fringe benefits or a total of $ 1.2 million that takes up 12.5 per cent of their membership collection from overseas workers.

Some 868,000 overseas Filipinos leave the country every year either as rehired workers or first time OFWs, but not all pay the $25 membership fee so OWWA's collection only averages about $8 million.

The revelation from the labour department comes in the wake of a demand by OWWA employees not to scrap the $25 membership fee. OWWA employees said a plan by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to scrap the fee would result in the laying off of hundreds of the agency's workers.

But Imson said that aside from being overpaid, OWWA has violated the law, since out of 14 benefits and allowances that the agency's workers get, only two have legal basis.

Aside from the regular pay and year-end bonuses, OWWA workers are given $160 in medical benefits, $400 foundation day bonus, a $50 productivity incentive bonus, $80 clothing allowance and a $50 rice subsidy.

Aside from these, they also have a provision for awards and incentives for service excellence; loyalty awards; a home adjustment allowance for welfare officers stationed abroad; and longevity pay.

Imson said they would not have learned about OWWA exorbitant benefits but for the department of budget of management, which conducted a review on its expenditures. For years, returning overseas workers have been complaining about the poor financial assistance being provided by OWWA.