OWWA: OFWs from Libya to receive debriefing, livelihood assistance

The government assured the Filipinos who were repatriated from strife-torn Libya of stress debriefing and livelihood assistance. In an interview over dzBB on Monday, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) head Carmelita Dimzon said, “Kung gusto nila magnegosyo na lang sila na magsabi ano gusto nilang ipundar, small and medium-scale enterprises." (If they want to go into business, they can let us know what they want to put up, small and medium enterprises.) "Yan tutulungan natin kung maliit na halaga ang micro-entrepreneurship, we can give them financial grant. Kung malaki we have loan assistance for them," she said. (We can help them with financial assistance for micro-entrepreneurship programs. If they want to set up a bigger business, we can give them loan assistance.) “Bibigyan sila ng stress debriefing sa gusto sumailalim sa stress debriefing (We will provide stress debriefing to those who want to undergo it)," she added. However, deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte explained that the livelihood assistance will apply to Filipinos who were not given job commitments by their Libyan employers. She said many of the repatriated Filipinos, especially those working in multinational companies, had been assured of alternate jobs by their employers. “We will have to see at the end of this kung ilan ang nadi-displace when it comes to employment dahil alam naman natin majority of these Filipinos were employed by multinationals already in Libya and I know there are talks the employers themselves had committed to finding other jobs for them," Valte said in an interview over government-run radio dzRB. (We will have to see at the end of this how many were displaced when it comes to employment because we know that majority of these Filipinos were employed by multinationals already in Libya and I know there are talks the employers themselves had committed to finding other jobs for them.) "So titingnan natin ilan mako-cover ng commitment na ito ng employers, titingnan natin sino di mako-cover niyan and we will have to provide assistance na maibibigay sa number na maiiwan from there," she added. (We will see who are not covered by the commitment of the employers, and we will have to provide assistance that can be given to them.) – VVP, GMA News