OWWA wraps up local implementation of DOLE AKAP for OFW this week – Cacdac

THE Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is set to wrap up the local implementation of the Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) program this week.

In an online news briefing on Monday, OWWA Administrator Hans J. Cacdac disclosed out of the 50,000 target AKAP beneficiaries, 40,572 already got the P10,000 one-time cash aid.

He said they already released P405,720,000 for the said overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who were affected by the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The OWWA chief said the remaining 9,428 AKAP beneficiaries are expected to get their cash aid within the week. Cacdac took note of the considerable number of OFWs, who applied for AKAP.

“We reached our target [50,000 beneficiaries] within a span of two and a half weeks of the Department of Labor and Employment [DOLE]-AKAP implementation,” Cacdac said.

Limited funding

BASED from OWWA’s latest data, a total of 169,960 OFWs applied for the local implementation of AKAP, but only 51,889 of the said applications were approved.

Cacdac admitted they may no longer be able to accommodate 1,899 applicants due to their limited funding.

He assured, however, that they may be accommodated once the agency get additional funding for AKAP.

AKAP has an allocated P1.5 billion to provide assistance to 150,000 Covid-affected OFWs.

“It has to be emphasized that our target with a budget of P500 million is 50,000. The rest of the P1 billion [AKAP budget] are with the POLO [Philippine Overseas Labor Office],” Cacdac explained.

Last Thursday, he said 368,703 OFWs have applied for AKAP, or more than twice the intended beneficiaries of the program.

It said it will need an additional P2 billion emergency fund to accommodate the excess the number of AKAP beneficiaries.