Thirty-three former Ilonggo overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) passers and have joined the public school system received assistance from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) under its “Sa ‘Pinas, Ikaw ang Ma’am at Sir” (SPIMS) program.

SPIMS is an reintegration initiative open for OFW teachers who returned to the country and those who wish to come home and decide to work in the Philippines permanently.

The former OFWs received PHP20,000 each in a turnover ceremony at the Casa Real on Wednesday in collaboration with the Public Employment Services Office (PESO) of the Iloilo provincial government.

They can use the assistance for work-related expenses.

The distribution was led by DMW Western Visayas Director Glenda Aligonza and graced by Provincial Administrator Raul Banias.

“They are former OFWs who returned to the Philippines for good. They were given priority in availing of the program and were given permanent positions by the Department of Education. They will be entering as Master Teacher I,” PESO officer-in-charge Dr. Cynthia Dario said in an interview on Thursday.

Dario said providing assistance is the government’s way of acknowledging the former OFWs’ sacrifices in returning home to serve their communities.

“There are comforts and perks when you are abroad, but you decide to come home because you know you can do better in your communities in Iloilo province. We appreciate you in that respect for your patriotism; we value you when you were former OFWs contributing to the local remittance but ultimately decided to come home to serve the Ilonggo students,” she added. (PNA)