Amira, a former overseas Filipino worker (OFW), received cash assistance from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) government after she became sick and was sent home from her work as a domestic helper in the Middle East.

“The current Marcos administration has carried on assisting returning OFWs who were not as lucky as others, through financial aid. It is a blessing,” Amira said in the vernacular during a phone interview on Wednesday, a day after receiving assistance from the regional government.

The 40-year-old Amira, a resident of Maguindanao del Norte province, was one of the 175 returning OFWs, also called overseas Bangsamoro workers (OBWs), who received livelihood cash assistance from the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE) – BARMM on Tuesday afternoon.

After receiving her livelihood aid at the MOLE regional office at the BARMM regional center here, Amira went straight to a grocery center to buy items she would sell in the “sari-sari” store she plans to open.

BARMM Labor Minister Muslimin Sema said the Overseas Workers Welfare Bureau (OWWB) of MOLE-BARMM facilitated the distribution of PHP3.5 million in financial assistance to the recipients.

Each beneficiary received a cash grant amounting to PHP20,000.

“Under the OWWB-MOLE, the ‘Reintegration Program for Balik Bangsamoro Hanap Trabaho’ aims to provide aid for returning OBWs as they start anew,” Sema said in a separate interview.

Apart from cash grants, the program also includes a series of livelihood training to turn the OBW’s business capital into efficient use and induce productivity. (PNA)