Department of Migrant Workers. MIGRANT WORKERS OFFICE

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), along with other government agencies such as the House of Representatives and the Senate, will create programs aimed at supporting elderly overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), said DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac in an interview with a local radio station on Tuesday (October 22). “ Because they are going home, of course, it is good that they have something saved or plans when they go home, but at the same time, with the length of service they've given to their families, to their communities, and to our nation as OFWs, we need to also help them mainstream themselves back into Philippine socioeconomic life,” Cacdac said. “So that's what we're preparing for, on a broader scale, the return of the generation of OFWs who left 20 to 30 years ago and are now returning home,” he added. Cacdac mentioned that OFW deployment reached one million for the first time between 2006 and 2007. He noted that if those OFWs were between 25 and 30 years old at that time, they would now be in their 50s or approaching their mid-50s. “In due time, maybe in four to five years’ time, they are also going home. Because the retirement age in Saudi or the Middle East is not exactly the same as ours which is 60 to 65. Around 50 to 60, some of them or many of them already decide to come home,” he said. Cacdac said that the DMW has already collaborated with House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Senate President Francis Escudero to create a law that will serve as the foundation for assistance for elderly OFWs. Discussions are also ongoing with party-list representatives in the House of Representatives, as well as with the National Commission of Senior Citizens under the Office of the President. He further added that the DMW is also collaborating with the Social Security System (SSS) to expand coverage, particularly for those OFWs who have been contributing, in response to the demand for a pension system for OFWs The agency is now also drafting programs for elderly OFWs to assist them with their medical expenses. "So we will announce this in due time but we will definitely implement it. We want to help the returning OFWs who are getting older,” he said. FLE/Expat Media
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