OWWA’s debt on hotel accommodation and transport for returning OFWs reached P300 million

Nearly 3 weeks worth of accommodation is pending to be paid by OWWA in the hotels that have been turned into quarantine facilities, as well as for the transportation of OFWs back home to their respective provinces. The amount: up to P300 million. Under the current 10-day facility-based quarantine, OWWA is estimated to spend P25,000 per OFW.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said hotel accommodation expenses for returning overseas Filipino continue to rise, as strict quarantine protocol is being implemented to prevent the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

OWWA said its unpaid bills with hotel owners and operators along with transport costs has surged to ₱300 million in the last three weeks alone.

According to OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac, the Department of Budget and Management only approved ₱5.2 billion of its ₱9.8 billion budget proposal.

Of the ₱5.2 billion, only ₱1.2 billion has been released so far.

“Magsusubmit ulit tayo ng financial assistance through the national government,” Cacdac said.