OFWs from Libya restart livelihood with P11-M aid

Some 150 overseas Filipino workers forced to flee strife-torn Libya earlier this year are getting a fresh start in Bulacan province, opening new businesses with an P11-million loan from the provincial government. Provincial Cooperative and Economic Development Office head Jovito Saguinsin said the P5 million saved from the previous local administration has been given to the 150 repatriates. The remaining P6 million is stored under a trust fund that will also be used for loans, he said in an article posted on Pinoy-OFW.com. “Intact pa ang P6 million na trust fund. Ang mga interest mula sa P5-million fund ang pinapaikot natin. Kumita na tayo diyan," Saguinsin said. (The P6 million trust fund is intact. We are circulating the interests earned from the P5-million fund. We have already profited from that.) Another batch of repatriates is expected to benefit from P3 million in loans. Each OFW is qualified to receive from P25,000 to P50,000 in livelihood assistance. Saguinsin said the loans to the OFWs have been used in putting up businesses on production and manufacturing in Bulacan. “The funds are being used for putting up small and medium enterprises ng mga OFWs from Libya. Sila ang naapektuhan talaga (They are the ones seriously affected)," he said. Figures from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration showed more than 2,000 Filipinos had been evacuated from Libya due to political tensions. The government had set aside at least P130 million to repatriate more than 13,000 Filipino workers displaced by the conflict. — JE, GMA News