Assistance to OFWs to be raised to P1 billion: Duterte

July 25, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte said assistance to overseas Filipino workers would be increased to P1 billion. During his State of the Nation Address on Monday, Duterte cited the contributions of the OFWs to the country. "They are our heroes. They and their families have sacrificed much for the country. We all know how a large part of our economic --- economy comes from their remittances," he said. Government estimates showed remittances are about a tenth of the country's gross domestic product. "That is why to ensure that their (OFWs) rights are protected, I ordered the increase of our assistance to the OFW from 400 million pesos to more than 1 billion (pesos,), " Duterte said. "We have been hard at work in securing the rights and welfare of our OFWs," he added. (Celerina Monte/DMS)   .