As applications continue to swamp the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Dubai, funding under the labor department’s one-time financial aid for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by COVID-19 in the city and its neighboring emirates has dwindled to AED5.74 million ($1.56 million).
A POLO report at the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai showed that more than half of the AED16.06 million ($4.37 million) set aside for the Department of Labor and Employment’s Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (DOLE-AKAP) program has been used up.
The report was prepared for the home office in Manila. It stated that AED10.25 million ($2.81 million) of the total amount allocated has already been paid out to 14,050 qualified applicants as of July 16, 2020.
The AED16.60 million is good only for 22,000 qualified OFWs, according to POLO head, Labor Attaché Felicitas Bay. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has said there were 400,000 documented OFWs in Dubai. There have been 92,532 AKAP applications, and counting.
Meantime, the remaining fund, amounting to AED5.74 million, will be disbursed to the 7,950 qualified OFW applicants in Dubai and the northern emirates. This, even as online applications continue to beset POLO-Dubai.
The AKAP program provides for AED730 ($200) per OFW who have lost jobs, on no-work-no-pay arrangements with employers or have had salaries adjusted as a result of COVID-19 measures.
The POLO report showed that there were 92,532 applications received since AKAP was rolled out in Dubai and the northern emirates a few months back. From this figure, 41,964 have so far been evaluated and 19,802 applicants have been approved.
Some 14,050 of the approved applicants have received their money. The remaining 7,950 standing in line to get theirs.
According to Bay, initial AKAP allocation for Dubai and the neighboring northern emirates was for 7,000 OFWs; additional funding was given for 10,000 more; and still another funding was allocated for 5,000 more for a total of 22,000 OFW recipients.
The northern emirates of Shajah, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman account for around 25,000, officials said.
There were 88,600 AKAP applicants around mid-June last month, also according to POLO.
The Daily Bread 