BONTOC, Mountain Province – The family of Cecilia Anongos Agunos, a deceased overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who had worked in Hong Kong recently received P120, 000 from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Dronwell Agunos, the son of the deceased OFW from Barangay Samoki, Bontoc, Mountain Province received the cheque on October 28, 2021, at the Bontoc Mayor’s Office of the in the presence of OWWA Officer in Charge–Regional Director Luzviminda Tumaliuan, OWWA Regional Accountant Marcy Lynn Piliyen, Mountain Province Family Welfare Officer Jenelyn Ngolab, Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey, and Labor and Employment Officer / Migrant Desk Officer Jenelyn Caluza of the municipal government.
According to Caluza, the P100, 000 represents the death benefit, and the P20, 000 represents the burial benefit, as Agunos was an active member of the OWWA when she died.
On the part of the Bontoc government, it provided technical assistance and referral on the preparation and submission of the necessary documents to the immediate family of the deceased OFW.
Per information from the website of the OWWA, for OFW-OWWA members who died a natural death; their families are given P100, 000, while the burial benefit is given to all OFWs who are members of OWWA, both active and inactive. Active members are those who are paying their membership fee, while inactive members are those who paid once but did not continue paying the fee to OWWA.
Mayor Odsey expressed his gratitude to OWWA for its program since it has assisted the families of the OFWs.
“Our OFWs are one of the modern heroes of our country. Thus, this is one way of giving back and acknowledging their sacrifices,” the mayor added.
Meanwhile, part of the visit of the OWWA officials in Bontoc, Mountain Province is the conduct of organizational meeting and orientation on the DOLE OWWA Tulong Pangkabuhayan Para Sa Pag-unlad ng Samahang OFWs (DOLE-OWWA Tulong Puso Program for OFW Groups). By Christy Mae Che-es and Alpine L. Killa
