Iloilo City is pushing the establishment of a help desk that will cater to Ilonggo overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially those in distress.

Gab Umadhay, manager of the Iloilo City Public Employment Service Office (PESO), said they wanted a dedicated area for OFWs from this city, especially with the growing workforce being deployed in different parts of the country and abroad.

“Our OFW desk is a one-stop shop for referrals, assistance, protection and reintegration of migrant workers. We will have one personnel who will focus on repatriation and reintegration,” Umadhay said in an interview on Monday, Feb. 23.

It will serve as a sub-unit of the PESO to focus on OFWs.

Umadhay said distressed OFWs coming home are referred to various government agencies for assistance.

He said PESO has its own independent program, while the city health office also has its separate intervention, or OFWs may also be referred to the city social welfare and development office.

“This time, they will just go to us, and we will be the ones to process everything,” the PESO manager said.

With the desk, they also hope to come up with a database of city residents who are working abroad.

They are currently monitoring around 10,000 OFWs from this city.

The city government will also allocate funds for the reintegration program.

Currently, PESO has referrals for those who want to work locally or abroad, social aid through assistance to individuals in crisis situations, and additional capital if they have an existing business.

Meanwhile, Councilor Alan Zaldivar, author of the Iloilo City Help Desk Ordinance, said the proposed local legislation is now being deliberated at the committee level after it was passed on first reading during their session at the City Council last week.

The help desk, in addition to coordination, also seeks to provide financial assistance and a livelihood program that will be anchored on the programs of concerned national agencies that are being downloaded to the PESO.

“There will be a skills training program to strengthen the skills of our returning OFWs. We will onboard programs of agencies like OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration), DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment), and City Social Welfare on how to conduct case management to establish proper intervention for returning OFW,” he said, adding that the intervention is not only economic but also psycho-social.PNA