LINGAYEN–The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) hailed the OFW Help Desk set up by the provincial government at the capitol here as a model that should be replicated in other provinces.

OWWA Administrator Carmelita Dimzon visited Pangasinan on April 27 to sign a memorandum of agreement with Governor Amado Espino Jr. that established the OFW Help Desk.

Dimzon said Pangasinan’s help center for overseas Filipino workers is exemplary it being a permanent unit since it was created by a provincial ordinance.

Dimzon said there are now about 500 help desks around the country set up for OFWs and OWWA intends to increase the number to at least 1,000 before the end of the year with the help of local government units (LGUs).

With the OFW Help Desks, she said, OWWA can easily get in touch with the families of workers abroad who may need assistance.

Board Member Ranjit Shahani, one of the authors of the ordinance, said the League of Provinces sought a copy of the provincial ordinance that created the Help Desk for adoption as a model by all provinces in the Philippines.

There is an estimated 156,000 OFWs from the Ilocos Region, with at least 80,900 from Pangasinan.—LM

Back to Homepage

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments