MANILA, 18 August 2007 — The Labor Department, private sector and nongovernment organizations have inked a memorandum of agreement yesterday forging unity to work together toward the reintegration of OFWs into the economic mainstream should they decide to come home for good.
Leading the NGOs and some nine banks who promised a “progressive” reintegration plan to returning OFWs was Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, who chairs the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO).
Calling the participants and the media “stakeholders” to the reintegration of OFWs, Brion said his office now has a different strategy as it takes on a program that would pave the way toward OFW integration even before leaving abroad.
Preparations will be made even during the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar to make it clear to the OFW that his stay abroad is just temporary, he added.
To avoid the “rag-to-riches-then-rags-again phenomenon” where OFWs send remittances to their families regularly, buy luxury items while abroad, then come home with hard-earned dollars only to lose it through weeks of spending, an “aggressive” information and education drive will be launched to learn to save money. “We will campaign for financial literacy so that in partnership with the private banks, the cost of remittance will be reduced and that OFWs are extended financial support once they return from work abroad,” Brion emphasized.
He explained that aside from their personal money, banks will open a loan program for investing OFWs to ensure that they will be able to reintegrate into their communities and become active participants again in the economic activity. OFWs need not fear for their lack of knowledge in running businesses because TESDA, the Department of Agriculture and other NGOs are willing to train OFWs open and run their own businesses.
Brion expressed hope that the new reintegration strategy will help ease out poverty and unemployment among returning OFWs. “There are 4.5 million reasons why we are aggressively launching a new reintegration strategy,” he said.
Brion was referring to the 4.5 million OFWs who are on temporary contract migration out of the eight million Filipinos working abroad.
He also explained that the strategy will be spelled out in the NRCO’s three core programs: Personal reintegration, Community Reintegration and Economic Reintegration.
