(Photo courtesy: Presidential News Desk)
MANILA, (PIA) -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will grace on Friday, Dec. 30, a gift-giving event that honors returning overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and their families in a "heartwarming" gathering to be held at the Kalayaan Grounds in Malacañan Palace, Manila.
The Christmas season event, dubbed "Pamaskong Handog Para sa Pamilyang OFW," is an initiative of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) in partnership with the Overseas Worker Welfare Administration (OWWA), that shows the government's gratitude for their sacrifices.
The gathering would allow Pres. Marcos to personally express his gratitude to OFWs for their contribution to the country's economic progress.
The Chief Executive would also be able to discuss with repatriates other programs that would help them in case they wanted to start a new life in the country.
It can be recalled that roughly 10 million Filipinos, or a tenth of the total population of the Philippines, were living and working abroad as domestic workers, seafarers, health and medical workers, and other occupations before the COVID-19 pandemic.
OFW remittances, meanwhile, have increased steadily over the past few years to reach more than USD25 billion annually, according to a report.
These foreign remittances, like the exports the Philippines sells to other countries to earn dollars, have provided a consistent source of dollar earnings for the country. As this money is generally used to purchase products and services by the families of OFWs, it directly benefits businesses and raises income in related areas of the economy.
For its part, the DMW with its approved 2023 budget, aims to produce more projects set to benefit OFWs such as having a designated hospital wing, more migrant workers offices across the country, and addition of more Labor Attaches in select countries in Europe.
Pres. Marcos has earlier called on OFWs to invest more in the Philippines to help the country bounce back from the economic effects of the pandemic. (PIA-NCR)
