Passport retrieval has emerged as the most pressing concern among Davao-based families of overseas workers caught in the Middle East crisis, according to a city government welfare official.
Jackilou Bandao, Development Management Officer I of the OFW Families’ Welfare and Crisis Center (OFWCC), said most inquiries reaching the center — primarily through email and Facebook — involve workers unable to reclaim their travel documents from employers. The center has since compiled the names of affected OFWs and forwarded them to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) for validation and coordination with the employers concerned.
Between March 2 and 6, the OFWCC logged 128 hotline queries from OFWs and family members seeking information, guidance, and referrals related to the situation in the Middle East. The center operates a 24/7 hotline service.
Forty-one left-behind family members received Psychosocial First Aid during the same period, alongside food assistance distributed to the same group. Four repatriation requests were also processed and referred to OWWA and DMW for appropriate action.
Speaking at the I-Speak Media Forum on Thursday, Bandao said the center calibrates its response based on what each family actually needs. A recurring concern, she noted, involves households that depend entirely on income from abroad.
“The second concern is the fact that the family abroad is a breadwinner. Sa ingon ani nga concern ginahaum nato ang atong ginahatag—nagahatag tag assistance sa ilahang basic needs (The second concern is the fact that the family member abroad is the breadwinner. In concerns like this, we adjust the assistance we provide—we give support for their basic needs),” she said.
Bandao stressed that keeping communication lines open is critical for families monitoring their relatives’ safety from home.
“Importante unsa ang pagpahiluna sa tabang sa ilang pamilya, with the available services sa City Government of Davao, sa CSWDO (It is important to properly arrange support for their family, together with the available services of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) of the City Government of Davao),” she said.
The OFWCC can be reached through the following: 24/7 hotline at 0972 996 6520, telephone at 082 295 3500, email at ofwcenter.davaocity@gmail.com, or through its Facebook page, OFW Families’ Welfare and Crisis Center Davao City.
“Ready mi muhatag og service sa OFW families, muuli man sila or dili, naay City Government nga ilang maduulan (We are ready to provide services to the families of OFWs. Whether they return home or not, there is a City Government they can turn to for assistance),” Bandao said.
