RIYADH, 19 November 2004 — Now there’s a glimmer of hope that needy Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) could finally avail themselves of the money donated by Sen. Panfilo Lacson to Barya Mo, Buhay Ko or BMBK (Your Loose Change, My Life).
Community leader Francis Maca said the funds are to be disbursed through TUPA, Inc., a new name of BMBK which stands for Tulong at Pagmamahal sa OFW, Inc. (Help and Love for OFWs, Inc.).
Maca, TUPA’s secretary-general, expressed optimism over the release of the fund as he announced that the group has finally been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the help of a lawyer-brother of TUPA treasurer Rene Zulueta.
Maca said BMBK could not be registered with the SEC because of a petition filed by ABS-CBN, which has a project of the same name. BMBK was eventually dropped in favor TUPA, Inc.
“The registration of the group is a condition for the amount — 2 million pesos (SR134,640) — to be availed of by needy OFWs,” he said.
He said he will present the SEC certificate of registration and the draft of the project proposal for which the amount would be disbursed to Labor Attaché Manuel “Dodong” Roldan as soon as the Philippine Embassy resumes business tomorrow.
Lacson entrusted the amount to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh as a check-and-balance mechanism to ensure that the amount would be used only for its purpose.
The amount is part of the 5 million pesos pledged by Lacson from his “pork barrel” allocation when he and other legislators visited Saudi Arabia in April 2002 to conduct a public hearing on overseas absentee voting. When he pledged the amount at the launch of Barya Mo, Buhay Ko at Marriot Hotel, Rep. Bobby Syjuco, Sen. Edgardo Angara and Rep. Bellaflor Angara Castillo and Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. also did the same.
Castillo pledged another P5 million from herself and Angara, her brother, but nothing had come out of it so far.
Pimentel donated $100 right away from his personal pocket, saying all his pork barrel allocation had been pledged to various groups at home.
Syjuco sent a 200,000-peso cheque but it had to be returned, according to Maca.
It was rejected by a local bank because the name of the payee did not jibe with the name of the account opened (in the bank) by the Philippine Embassy in the name of Barya Mo, Buhay Ko.
Syjuco promised to send it back once the error has been corrected subject to the availability of funds because the amount was taken from the Countryside Development Fund, the pork barrel fund for congressmen and senators. No cheque has so far been received from him after that.
Guidelines
Maca clarified that there are certain guidelines to be followed in availing of the amount, which will be released in three tranches in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement signed with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“First an applicant has to talk to the POLO. We at TUPA, Inc. won’t entertain any applicant,” he said.
Maca said that TUPA, Inc. will help by giving a ticket to an OFW who is going home because he is mentally-deranged, victim of sexual assault, or violated any rule of the Kingdom. “An applicant has to submit a photocopy of his passport, exit visa, among others,” he said.
