Photo Release

More funds for OFW caretaker: Sen. Risa Hontiveros bats for more funds for the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) in the national government's 2023 budget. During the Finance Subcommittee N's first-ever DMW budget hearing Wednesday, October 5, 2022, the Deputy Minority Leader emphasized the contributions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the Philippine economy, particularly, the impact of their remittances. "Just for 2021, the remittances of our OFWs reached $34.8 billion, or P1.74 trillion. That's 20 percent of the total national government budget now being proposed under the current National Expenditure Program. And yet, the new department that is supposed to take care of our fellow Filipinos has to make do with a much smaller recommended budget," Hontiveros lamented. In a presentation before the Senate panel, the DMW reported that its P15.2-billion proposed 2023 budget is at least P3.69 billion short from its originally-requested allocation for its programs and projects next year. (Screengrab/Senate PRIB)