The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) once again missed the opportunity to ask President Bongbong Marcos Jr. to highlight the AKSYON Fund in his State of the Nation Address (SONA). Instead, the president thanked the governments of Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and other countries which granted clemency to about 600 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac therefore shared at the 2025 Post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) discussions last July 30 that many OFWs have benefited from the department’s AKSYON Fund. The Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFWs na Nangangailangan (AKSYON) Fund is a comprehensive support system that offers legal assistance, medical assistance, financial aid, repatriation services, and emergency assistance. The budget for this year is more than Php 2 billion.
Cacdac cited a case in Saudi Arabia involving an OFW on death row, who was eventually acquitted through the support provided by the fund and added that the fund was also used to assist OFWs facing legal cases in Kuwait. The department also successfully brought home from Qatar an OFW suffering from stage 4 cancer.
“Mayroon din tayong tinutulungan na mga pasyente. Binabayaran natin iyong kanilang hospital bills kapag hindi masagot ng insurance. Ito ang mga natutulungan ng ating AKSYON Fund na iginawad ng Kongreso at ng ating mahal na Pangulo para sa mga OFWs,” the secretary further explained.
In the UAE, the department assisted the May 13 Al Barsha fire victims, where two OFWs lost their lives. The first remains were repatriated on May 26 through the AKSYON Fund. Cacdac personally met some victims on May 31 when he was in Dubai. Cash assistance was provided to all the victims and to their families in the Philippines.
I want to recognize a team within DMW, the Land-based OFW Concerns Team under Assistant Secretary Venecio ‘Ka Vennie’ Legaspi. The team members used to be OFWs or are family members of OFWs. Their office at the DMW headquarters is open seven days a week. Legaspi is being assisted by Director IV Charles Tabbu.
Last June, Legaspi accompanied Cacdac to Amman, Jordan to personally oversee the repatriation efforts of affected OFWs at the height of the Israel and Iran hostilities. Those OFWs who participated in the repatriation program received financial assistance to help offset their income and livelihood losses. They got Php 75,000 from the AKSYON Fund and another Php 75,000 from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s (OWWA) Emergency Repatriation Fund.
Legaspi was the right person to accompany Cacdac as he knows the Middle East very well. He worked in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for 29 years, retiring in 2021 as Vice President of Bank Al Jazira. He is a recipient of the Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas (PAFIOO) in 2021. The PAFIOO is a biennial award system that recognizes outstanding overseas Filipinos for their significant contributions such as advancing the welfare of overseas Filipinos, supporting national development efforts, or raising the international profile of the Filipino diaspora.
The Land-based OFW Concerns Team can assist in the AKSYON Fund application and can also endorse those in distress to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
Photo shows some of the Land-based OFW Concerns team members who used to worked in the Middle East, from left to right: Fortunato Esguerra (Jeddah), Agnes Alimbog (DubaI), Jun Aguilar (Riyadh), Roland Blanco (Riyadh), the columnist, Vennie Legaspi (Jeddah), and Charles Tabbu (Jeddah).
You can email osec@dmw.gov.ph, repatriation_awd@dmw.gov.ph, or repat@dmw.gov.ph if you want to avail of the AKSYON Fund, whose primary goal is to provide immediate and effective relief to OFWs in distress, ensuring their safety, security, and well-being. You can also go to the Migrant Workers Office in your respective countries to seek assistance.
Note: The columnist is a 24-year resident of Dubai and is currently working as Head of Corporate Communications of a global energy logistics company. He used to be a former Filipino Community Leader as chairman of the Philippine Independence Day Execom in 2008 and as one of the founding officers of the Filipino Social Club in 2019. He can be reached at: artlosbanos@gmail.com
