MANILA, Philippines — Close to 280,000 overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who were affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, were able to receive cash assistance from the government, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Sunday. In a statement, DOLE said it disbursed P2.853 billion funds under its Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP), the Labor Department’s assistance for displaced “Land-based and Sea-based Filipino workers” during the pandemic. ADVERTISEMENT“As of October 2, DOLE had disbursed some P2.853 billion in Akap funds to both on-site and repatriated OFW beneficiaries. Akap has approved 312,974 of the 637,873 applications for assistance that were received by POLOs (Philippine Overseas Labor Offices) and OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) field offices,” read the statement. READ: What’s the DOLE plan for OFWs?

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 04, 2020 13:41 UTC