DMW seeks P11-billion budget to help OFWs in 2027

RETURN. Repatriated Filipinos from the United Arab Emirates arrive in the Philippines on March 9, 2026, as conflict rages on in the Middle East.

Department of Migrant Workers

For 2027, the Marcos Jr. administration plans to allocate P2 billion for the Department of Migrant Workers’ AKSYON Fund and P978 million for the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s Emergency Repatriation Program

AT A GLANCE

• The Department of Migrant Workers is proposing a budget of P11.62 billion for 2027, which is lower than the P11.75 billion allocated in 2026.
• The proposed budget includes funding for the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the AKSYON Fund, which provides various assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
• The budget proposal comes amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East affecting over two million Filipinos, with recent repatriation efforts resulting in over 10,580 individuals being brought back home.

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MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is seeking an P11.62-billion budget for 2027 to provide services for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The proposed amount is lower than what was approved in this year’s national budget. In the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), the DMW was allocated P11.75 billion. 

Both figures include automatically appropriated funds, which are retirement and life insurance premiums and special accounts. The proposed DMW budget also includes funding for its attached agency, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) showed that the Marcos Jr. administration is seeking P7.27 billion for DMW’s Office of the Secretary and P4.35 billion for OWWA. 

In his budget message, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the proposed spending plan has P2 billion for the Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan or AKSYON Fund, the same amount in the 2026 budget.

The AKSYON Fund provides legal, medical, financial, and other forms of assistance to OFWs. It is sourced under the DMW’s “Worker’s Welfare and Government Placement Services.” But that line item is seen to be reduced to P4.6 billion next year from P4.8 billion in the 2026 GAA. 

Marcos also said his administration is seeking P978 million for OWWA’s Emergency Repatriation Program next year, a cut from P1.29 billion in the 2026 GAA. 

Overseas Filipinos were among those affected by ongoing tensions in the Middle East, since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28. 

There are more than two million Filipinos in the conflict-ridden region, government data show.

In June, the President ordered the release of an additional P3-billion budget for the DMW’s repatriation and reintegration efforts.

As of July, the DMW reported that 10,580 migrant workers, overseas Filipinos, and their dependents have been repatriated.

The House appropriations committee is set to deliberate the budget proposal on Wednesday, August 26. – Rappler.com