THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced on Tuesday a P2-billion loan-reintegration allocation for returning Filipino migrant workers to allow them to start their own small local business and livelihood projects in the country rather than work overseas.

Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said Filipino migrant workers can avail themselves of loans from the minimum amount of P300,000  up to P2-million capital depending on the nature of business that an applicant would want to start. 

The loan-reintegration program will be processed by the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines. 

But the loan applicant needs to have enough savings to shoulder the 20-percent cost of the loan project applied for under the program. The loan program, to be facilitated by the DOLE-attached agency Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), will only cover 80 percent of the cost, Cruz stressed.

“The workers [who wish to avail themselves of the loan project] also need to invest and have enough savings, as well as training and knowledge, to be able to effectively manage their small businesses,” said Cruz in an interview with reporters.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz led the launch of the P2-billion loan-reintegration package program for Filipino migrant workers at the First National Congress of Overseas Filipinos Workers and Families held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. A number of overseas Filipinos workers business owners have also showcased their products and services in an exhibit during the event.

The Labor chief handed over the checks for the first 12 loan beneficiaries for the initial P8-million loan package at the launch of the program.

The program was unveiled to mark the country’s celebration of the International Migrant Workers’ Day that highlights the significant contribution of the 8 million Filipino migrant workers abroad, whose remittances reaching $19 billion in the last two years continue to buoy the local economy. The Philippines is the world’s third-largest sending country of migrant workers, only next to China and India. 

Cruz said the migrant workers need not be a current member of OWWA to qualify for the loan-reintegration program. “Those who want to avail [themselves] of the loan-reintegration package only need to undergo the required capacity-building program to be handled by OWWA,” said Cruz, stressing that the training program “aims to equip Filipino migrant workers with proper skills and knowledge in starting and managing their own businesses.”