A larger share of state funding has been set aside this year to move distressed Filipinos out of crisis zones abroad, with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) earmarking more than a billion pesos specifically for emergency repatriation, according to the Department of Migrant Workers.
During a Malacañang press briefing on Monday, DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said the repatriation allocation under OWWA reached PhP1.286 billion for 2026, alongside a separate PhP942 million line item under the “Alagang OWWA” program.
“For OWWA, tumaas po iyong ating tinatawag na emergency repatriation to PhP1.286 billion for 2026 and mayroon tayong tinatawag na ‘Alagang OWWA’ na PhP942 million,” Olalia said.
He explained that a portion of the “Alagang OWWA” funding is being channeled to Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) caravans, a mobile service initiative that brings multiple government agencies directly to migrant communities abroad.
“Iyong ‘Alagang OWWA’ natin part of those expenses will be for the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) caravans. Ito po iyong ginagawa nating serbisyo sa ating mga OFWs abroad na kung saan may whole-of-government approach tayo. Hindi bababa sa 15 ahensiya ang tumutulong para ilapit iyong government services para sa ating mga OFWs,” Olalia said.
Based on DMW data, the caravans had already reached 63,161 OFWs overseas as of November 2025, generating a total of 145,807 transactions across various government services. These activities were carried out in several regions, including the Middle East, parts of Asia, and Europe.
At present, similar caravans are ongoing in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, led by DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac with the participation of First Lady Lisa Araneta-Marcos.
Olalia also disclosed that OWWA’s overall allocation for 2026 amounts to PhP4.2 billion, reflecting a 26 percent increase from its PhP3.4 billion budget the previous year. The DMW, meanwhile, is operating on a total budget of PhP11.7 billion for the current fiscal year.
Separately, Olalia said the department has extended repatriation assistance to 3,723 OFWs who were victimized by scam operations in Cambodia and Myanmar under the government’s migrant protection programs.
