First district representative Edgar Chatto appeals to embassies and missions abroad to provide psychosocial intervention to distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFW) during briefing of the House Committee on Public Accounts.
“Psychosocial intervention can be through mass media, social media, and even through phone calls”, Chatto said.
He said it is important to strengthen the fighting spirit and morale of distressed OFWs whether through phone call or social media platforms like Facebook in light of difficulty to reach out to OFWs amid lockdown situations and overwhelmed health systems.
Reaching out to OFWs even before medical care or any form of support can be extended, Chatto stated.
The solon added that communication to OFWs matters greatly even when needs cannot yet be delivered due to circumstances beyond the control of authorities.
He made his manifestation during a briefing on the whole of government approach in its migration policy response to the global pandemic in a Public Accounts Committee meeting presided by Cong. Michael Defensor.
The meeting happened in the presence of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Leo Cacdac, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Sarah Lou Ariola (Migrant Workers’ Affairs), Ambassador Adnan Alonto (Saudi Arabia), Ambassador Hjayceelyn Quintana (Abu Dhabi), and several OFWs, reports say.
Chatto’s office responded to concerns of a Boholano OFW who tested positive for COVID by linking the OFW to the DFA through Usec. Ariola and Ambassador Alonto of the Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia.
There are OFWs from Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sweden, Taiwan among others, who have sought the assistance of Chatto’s office for medical, financial and repatriation concerns amid the COVID pandemic.
The first district solon also urged agencies to set up and strengthen one-stop-shop centers in coordination with embassies and missions throughout the globe to facilitate the repatriation of OFWs.
Moreover, he cited the need for complementation of efforts of Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) and national agencies in charge of repatriation.
Stronger ties and coordination with LGUs are important in calibrating trips and in the consideration of the absorbing capacity of arrival destinations like Manila or Cebu to host and provide medical checks to OFWs before they are sent home to their provinces, he said.
Remittances are a major economic lifeline thus adequate and quick response by the Philippine Government is imperative to the needs of the OFW sector which is heavily affected by the pandemic, Chatto added.
There are OFWs who are losing jobs or have experienced pay cuts and even contracting the virus, he concluded.
The committee meeting that Chatto participated in also tackled the formulation of an integrated and comprehensive program for OFWs and their families affected by the COVID crisis.
Chatto first opened an OFW Desk in his office during his time as vice governor. He continued the same services to OFWs during his first stint in Congress. Now, an OFW affairs desk at the Bohol Employment and Placement Office (BEPO) was formed during his stint as governor of Bohol.
Chatto continues to provide services to OFWs now that he is on his second stint as first district congressman.