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Home away from home for Filipinos
DUBAI - Distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the UAE who find themselves with no place to stay on their arrival in Manila can be temporarily accommodated in a 'halfway home', a facility that had been enhanced recently by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Manila.
The halfway home, located on the second floor of the OWWA Centre Building in Pasay City, was inaugurated by OWWA Administrator Marianito Roque on April 18. The OWWA has an existing halfway home on the ninth floor of the same building but this was only for female workers.
The enhancement of the lodging facility will come as a relief for stranded OFWs who had run away from their employers and were repatriated to the Philippines with limited funds or were left with no money in their pockets.
“The halfway home is located on the second and ninth floors of the OWWA building. The facility on the second floor has 28 beds, and is designated for female workers. Male workers can now be accommodated on the ninth floor where the same number of beds are available,” Rosanne Bahia-Catapang, OWWA welfare officer in Dubai, told Khaleej Times yesterday.
The lodging facility will only accommodate a limited number of transient workers, so they can only can stay for a minimum period of three to four days till one week. These workers will be provided with beddings, meals and personal hygiene kits, while recreational facilities are likewise available in the halfway home during their temporary stay.
The OWWA also provides for the free transportation, whether by land or by air, of OFWs who do not have the means to travel to their provinces, she said. Bahia-Catapang likewise disclosed that plans are under way to transfer the halfway home for male workers nearer to the second floor of the OWWA building
Meanwhile, a computer centre has also been set up for OFWs and their dependents. “About 26 personal computers had been donated by Microsoft. Basically, the centre will provide free training. There will also be free Internet access to enable them to communicate with their loved ones in different countries,” she said. Both facilities — lodging and computer training centre — are OWWA projects, which seek to provide assistance to returning OFWs and their families. It has been noted that a number of OFWs in distress have run away from their employers due to abuse, non-payment of wages and a host of other problems.
Officials at the Philippine Overseas Labour Office and OWWA in Dubai provide custodial and legal assistance as well as ensure that they are repatriated to the Philippines following the resolution of their respective cases. Some OFWs do not have a place to stay when they arrive in Manila, but can temporarily stay at the halfway home in the OWWA building.
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