The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Thursday emphasized the importance of bringing government reintegration services closer to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as the BBM-National Reintegration Network (NRN) Caravan continued its rollout in Albay.
Speaking during the caravan at the Albay Astrodome, DMW Assistant Secretary for Reintegration Services Francis Ron De Guzman said the program aims to ensure that returning OFWs receive sustained support beyond repatriation.
“Our responsibility does not end with bringing them home safely. What is more important is ensuring their well-being upon their return to the Philippines and identifying the support they need as they start over,” De Guzman said.
He explained that the NRN is a whole-of-government initiative that combines services from various agencies to help OFWs and their families transition back into local communities.
The program, initially comprising 16 government agencies, was formalized by a joint memorandum circular issued in response to a directive from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
“As activities continue to expand, more government agencies are also joining in to provide services for our OFWs,” De Guzman said.
De Guzman said the reintegration program is anchored on three major pillars: aftercare or “kalinga,” livelihood or employment opportunities and skills upgrading.
Under the “kalinga” pillar, returning OFWs receive psychosocial support, health checkups and medical assistance through partner agencies, including the Department of Health.
He said that these interventions are particularly important for distressed and repatriated OFWs, including those affected by conflicts in the Middle East.
“Last Tuesday, we had 137 repatriated OFWs from the Middle East. We are continuously reaching out to them and helping them settle back here in the Philippines,” he said.
For livelihood support, De Guzman said the caravan also offers local and overseas job opportunities through job fairs, employment matching and government-to-government hiring arrangements in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment, Public Employment Service Offices and private sector partners.
He added that skills enhancement remains a critical component of reintegration, with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and local government units supporting upskilling programs to improve OFWs’ opportunities.
“This is one of the best ways to protect our OFWs. The higher their skills and knowledge, the greater the opportunities available to them,” he said.
De Guzman noted that Albay has now become the 12th BBM-NRN fair conducted nationwide since its launch in Quezon City last April.
The caravan has since expanded to several areas nationwide, including Tacloban, and is set to continue in Isabela, Agusan, Butuan, Batangas and Baguio.
“Wherever our OFWs are, we bring services to them because they must be supported,” De Guzman said. Among the beneficiaries who attended the caravan was 60-year-old Eden Abadonio of Bacacay, Albay, who worked in Oman for nearly 17 years before being sent home due to health concerns.
Abadonio said she initially had no plans of returning permanently to the Philippines but was advised by her employer to rest after getting sick.
Although she was sent home without a return ticket, she sought assistance from the DMW and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and pursued a small business.
“Life does not end with being an OFW. Despite my experiences abroad, I worked hard to build a business here,” she said.
Also, among the beneficiaries of the Expanded Livelihood Development Assistance Program was Francisco Catimbang, 60, of Pili, Camarines Sur, who returned home from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December after being diagnosed with heart and kidney complications that now require dialysis.
Catimbang said the assistance he received from the DMW would help his family establish a small piggery business after he lost his job abroad.
“This is important not only for me but for all returning OFWs so that they can, in some way, help their families,” he said. (PNA)
