PALACES REQUEST FOR P500 MILLION BUDGET FOR
EVACUATION OF OFWs HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today asked why Malacañang is asking Congress to allocate P500 million from the national treasury for the mass evacuation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Lebanon.

Pimentel said he is wondering why an augmentation fund from the national treasury is being sought by the Palace when there is a P7.6 billion Overseas Workers Welfare Fund that is supposed to take care of contingencies like the repatriation of OFWs from war-torn countries.

In my view, this is a glaring proof of the allegation that the Overseas Workers Welfare Fund had been used for purposes other than the welfare of the OFWs, he said.

He said that supplemental emergency budget being requested by the Palace should therefore be thoroughly scrutinized during the debates on the matter.

Corollary to this, Pimentel said the Commission on Audit should immediately conduct an audit of the Fund while the Senate should subpoena officials of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration if they will continue to ignore the public hearings of the Senate committee on labor and employment on the issue.