Skills certification can now be earned abroad without a trip home, under a fresh agreement between the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) signed in Hong Kong. The arrangement lets overseas Filipino workers complete training and assessment overseas and secure National Certificate II (NC II) qualifications while still on the job.
That agreement is one strand of a wider set of partnerships OWWA rolled out to broaden the options available to workers planning their eventual return. OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan detailed the initiatives in a Radyo Pilipinas interview on Tuesday, describing them as part of a shift in how the agency approaches reintegration.
According to a Philippine News Agency report, central to the package is a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA), intended to open up franchising and other livelihood paths for workers and their dependents as they settle back into their home communities. Caunan said aspiring business owners coming through OWWA’s programs would receive guidance from the PFA alongside the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and TESDA.
For Caunan, the thinking behind reintegration needs to move past the idea of handouts. “Siguro dapat tigilan lang natin ang pag-iisip na ang tulong sa OFW dapat ayuda lang (Maybe we should stop the thinking that helping OFWs should only be aid) or financial assistance,” she said.
She argued that launching a venture with real staying power is rarely straightforward, particularly for those who have spent years away. “Pag nagsisimula po kasi ng negosyo maraming kailangang tulong. Isa dyan ang mentorship or guidance kasi hindi basta may pera ka, magkakanegosyo ka na. Mas maganda ang guided kayo ng mga eksperto at mga taong nagawa na ang gusto ninyong tahaking landas (When starting a business, there are many things you need help with. One of them is mentorship or guidance because it’s not just about having money to start a business. It’s better to be guided by experts and people who have already walked the path you want to take),” she said.
On the financing side, the Small Business Corporation (SB Corp), a DTI-attached government corporation, runs a loan facility for those entering business. Caunan said the scheme lets OFWs cover as much as 80 percent of a franchise’s cost through an SB Corp loan carrying interest of 1 percent monthly.
“So sa franchise po, ang ilalabas na lang po ng ating OFW applicant would be 20 percent ng cost ng franchise. Kunwari ang franchise po ay PHP100,000, PHP20,000 lang ang ilalabas at ang PHP80,000 ay pwede utangin sa SB Corp, isa rin government po ito, at ang interest ay (So for the franchise, the OFW applicant would only need to pay 20 percent of the cost of the franchise. For example, if the franchise costs PHP100,000, you only need to pay PHP20,000, and the PHP80,000 can be borrowed from SB Corp, which is also a government entity, and the interest is) 1 percent per month,” she explained.
The funding behind the effort comes from a dedicated government allocation. “Na-announce na po ito ni DTI Secretary Chris Roque, PHP2 billion ang inilaan ng ating pamahalaan sa ilalim ng ating mahal na Pangulo in the form of negosyo fund for the OFW (DTI Secretary Chris Roque has already announced that our government under our beloved President has allocated PHP2 billion in the form of a business fund for the OFWs),” Caunan said.
The new tie-ups were unveiled at the OFW Kabuhayan Expo 2026, held at the SMX Convention Center Manila to mark National Migrant Workers Day on Sunday. OWWA staged the event with partner agencies and private groups, gathering government services, livelihood prospects, consultations, and reintegration assistance under one roof for workers and their families.
Caunan also stressed that the agency’s mandate extends beyond entrepreneurship. She said OWWA keeps the protection of distressed workers at the forefront, with the government continuing to bring abused and stranded Filipinos home safely and helping them start over through jobs and business ventures.
