Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac responds to queries and concerns from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Kuwait, in a consultation meeting that was attended by close to 300 members of the Filipino community on 19 January 2020 at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO).

During the meeting, Administrator Cacdac delivered the assurances of Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III that the Department of Labor and Employment, through POLO and OWWA, will continue to extend assistance to all Filipinos who are in need in Kuwait.

Administrator Cacdac is in Kuwait to check the condition of the more than 230,000 Filipinos in Kuwait, which is currently under the Philippines’ Crisis Alert Level 1 (Precautionary Phase) due to the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. The OWWA chief explained the government’s programs for OFWs who wish to be repatriated to the Philippines due to the situation in the region, such as cash grants under OWWA’s “Balik-Pilipinas, Balik-Hanapbuhay” program, jobs under the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program, and free training courses by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

The Filipino community meeting was also attended by Presidential Adviser on OFW Concerns Secretary Abdullah D. Mama-o, Undersecretary Edwin D. Bael of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on OFW Concerns, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. and Consul General Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot of the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, and Labor Attaché Nasser S. Mustafa of POLO Kuwait. (Kuwait PE photos)