Returning overseas Filipino workers in Cagayan Valley now have a dedicated regional facility to turn to for livelihood, training, and employment assistance following the opening of the Alagang OWWA Kapihan at Kabuhayan Center.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration inaugurated the facility on June 15 at the regional government center in Carig Sur. According to OWWA regional director Virsie Tamayao, the center is designed to function as both a physical and online base for OFWs coming home, consolidating programs from OWWA, the Department of Migrant Workers, the Department of Trade and Industry, and several other partner agencies under one roof.
Tamayao described the facility as a single entry point where returning workers can secure help with welfare concerns, skills development, jobs, and entrepreneurship without having to shoulder additional time, effort, and costs by dealing with multiple offices separately.
Workers who visit can undergo profiling and assessment, select whether they want to pursue employment or set up a business, take part in training and job-matching, and have their progress monitored afterward. A digital counterpart supports the same process through the Migrant’s Brew-Alagang OWWA Center reintegration portal, which lets OFWs build a personalized reintegration plan, locate a center, and tap job-matching and related services.
Loan assistance is also available. OFWs who organize themselves into an association or cooperative and meet the eligibility requirements may apply for financing of up to AED equivalent—P5 million—intended to back livelihood or enterprise ventures.
Tamayao noted that Cagayan Valley counts more than 300,000 documented OFWs and OWWA members who stand to benefit from what the new center offers.
