The government has assured overseas Filipino workers (OFW) that their welfare funds are intact and will not be used to fund the campaign of administration candidates in the coming May elections. Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Carmelita Dimzon Thursday said the $25 membership fee that OFWs pay upon departure would be used solely for the benefit of the workers. The compulsory membership fee entitles OFWs to such benefits as repatriation, financial assistance, counseling, and livelihood loans and training. “The internal control policies adopted and implemented by the board of trustees and the pre-audit procedures of the Commission on Audit (COA) ensure that the trust fund of the OWWA will only be used for the benefit of its members and will not be diverted for election purposes,” Dimzon said in an interview. The agency issued the assurance after a migrants' rights group raised fears that the workers' welfare fund, amounting to P12 billion according to their estimates, may again be diverted to fund campaign expenses. “The misuse or illegal diversion of OWWA funds for any electoral agenda by the ruling party is not remote; in fact, the Arroyo administration already did it during the 2004 Presidential elections when it diverted the estimated 500-M OWWA medical funds to Philippine Health Corp. (Philhealth) by issuing ‘free' medical Philhealth cards to woo voters,” said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, in a statement. Dimzon, however, said the OWWA board of trustees is multisectoral in nature and includes members from the workers' ranks themselves. “The voice of the OFWs, particularly the land-based workers and seafarers, is heard through their representatives in making sure that every centavo spent is for a purpose authorized under OWWA's mandate,” the labor official stressed. Other members of the board are representatives of the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Finance, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and the Department of Foreign Affairs. The OWWA chief added that diversion of funds will not be possible under a system where every transaction is to be recorded promptly and fully documented. “The paper trail, pre-audit, and surprise inspections by COA auditors assure members and the public that OWWA funds are used only for purposes mandated by law,” she said. Migrante said the Medicare funds and functions of OWWA were transferred to Philhealth in 2003 without the knowledge of two of its trustees: Rosalinda Baldoz, then POEA administrator, and Cora Carsola, the only OFW representative in board.
