The provincial government of Negros Occidental yesterday distributed P405,000 in financial assistance to 81 Negrense Overseas Filipino Workers, in a ceremonial turnover held at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City.
The beneficiaries are distressed and displaced OFWs from the different towns and cities in Negros Occidental, who were unable to completed their contracts and returned to the province, between January to June last year.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson led the distribution of cash assistance to the beneficiaries, in the presence of some mayors and other local officials.
Lacson said that Western Visayas is among the regions in the country with the largest population of OFWs.
Aside from financial assistance, the provincial government of Negros Occidental initiated various programs to help OFWs and migrant workers, including a Psychological Counselling Workshop for Distressed OFWs and Their Families, and college scholarships for non-returning OFWs, among others.
In a statement from its Public Information Office, the province has also partnered with the International Labor Organization and the Center for Migrant Advocacy for a project entitled, “Establishing and Institutionalizing a Gender-Responsive Migrant Resource Center Help Desks and Services for Women Migrant Workers in the Province of Negros Occidental.”*
