Filipinos urged to renew or get new insurance cover

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially those in the Middle East, are urged to get insurance cover or reactivate membership with the government insurance agency.

This was contained in a new safety handbook issued to OFWs, published by the Middle East Preparedness Team (MEPT), a copy of which was obtained by Gulf News.

The booklet, issued as tensions remain high over Iraq, also contains safety tips and guidelines on what to do and how to respond to emergency situations. It contains basic information about chemical and biological weapons.

"Knowledge and awareness of how to respond to an emergency situation or crisis are vital to coping and surviving a crisis or emergency situation," the foreword said.

"If you have medical or health care insurance, have your medical or health care card ready and on hand," it advises. "A portable transistor or short-wave radio is very important for monitoring developments. Be sure you have spare batteries," it said in the to-do list on the communications section.

Copies of the pamphlet are given out by different Philippine diplomatic missions in the Middle East, and also posted on some OFW websites.

"The best insurance cover is still active membership with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)," said Ferdinand Roxas, a supervising welfare officer for Dubai and Northern Emirates.

He strongly urged OFWs who have lapsed insurance coverage with OWWA, to reactivate their membership to avail of the benefits. Through its voluntary membership programme, even undocumented OFWs can readily register with the agency.

OWWA is promoting the use of e-card with hopes to get a more accurate number of OFWs and speed up delivery of services to them and their families.

Each OFW leaving for the first time is required to pay $25 to OWWA, which includes insurance coverage and repatriation bond. OFWs can renew their membership every year.

Members of the MEPT earlier visited several countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, to assure OFWs and their families that contingency plans are in place and advised them to stay calm and avoid crowded places as a precautionary measure.

They said that even OFWs in Kuwait don't feel as alarmed as before, when Kuwait was invaded in a surprise attack by its neighbour. The UAE is being eyed as a half-way house for OFWs, who might take refuge here from Kuwait if and when war breaks out in Iraq.