P10,000 for Overseas Filipino Workers under DOLE-AKAP for OFWs

By P&L Law | Services | 9 April 2020 in HR & Labor, Obiter / News
279 Replies | Related posts at the end of article

A one-time financial assistance of Two Hundred US Dollars (US$200) or Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000), or its equivalent in the local currency of the host country, for displaced Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) has been approved. On 8 April 2020, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued Department Order No. 212, series of 2020, providing for guidelines on the provisional financial assistance for displaced landbased and seabased Filipino workers due to the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19). This social amelioration program is called “DOLE-AKAP for OFWs” (separate from the CAMP and TUPAD#BKK for Philippine-based workers). The coverage and application procedure for displaced OFWs, based on D.O. 212, are discussed below.

I. COVERAGE

The DOLE-AKAP for OFWs covers both documented, undocumented and repatriated OFWs, as well as Balik-Manggagawa, provided they comply with the requirements. 

A. Regular / Documented OFW, as defined in the 2016 Revised POEA Rules and Regulations, refers to those:

  • i. who possess a valid passport and appropriate visa or permit to stay and work in the receiving country; and 
  • ii. whose contract of employment has been processed by the POEA or the POLO.

B. Qualified Undocumented OFW:

  • i. who were originally regular or documented workers but for some reason or cause have thereafter lost their regular or documented status;
  • ii. who are not registered with the POEA or whose contracts were not processed by POEA or the POLO, but have undertaken actions to regularize their contracts or status; or
  • iii. who are not registered with the POEA or whose contracts were not processed by POEA or the POLO, but are active OWWA members at the time of availment.

C. Balik-Manggagawa who are unable to return to host country in view of host country lockdown due to COVID19.

II. ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for the DOLE-AKAP, the recipients:

1. Must have experienced job displacement due to the receiving country’s imposition of lockdown or community quarantine or having been infected by the disease;

2. Must be still at overseas jobsites, or in the Philippines as Balik-Manggagawa, or already repatriated to the Philippines; and

3. Must not receive any financial support / assistance from the receiving countries / employers.

[Note that the OFW must have experienced “job displacement”. One of the requirements is “proof of loss of employment on account of COVID19,” which means that the financial assistance is available only if the OFW lost his/her employment or no longer has any work abroad because of COVID19. In other words, OFWs who are still employed, even if under a “no work, no pay” arrangement, are not covered.]

III. PRIORITY COUNTRIES / TERRITORIES FOR ONSITE OFWs

The DOLE shall provide financial assistance to qualified OFWs from the following countries with Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) presence and/or are heavily affected by COVID19:

Middle East and Africa

  • 1. Bahrain
  • 2. Israel
  • 3. Jordan
  • 4. Kuwait
  • 5. Lebanon
  • 6. Libya
  • 7. Oman
  • 8. Qatar
  • 9. Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of
  • 10. United Arab Emirates

Asia and the Pacific

  • 1. Australia
  • 2. Brunei
  • 3. Hong Kong
  • 4. Japan
  • 5. Korea
  • 6. Macau
  • 7. Singapore
  • 8. Taiwan
  • 9. Malaysia
  • 10. New Zealand

Europe and Americas

  • 1. Canada
  • 2. Cyprus
  • 3. Italy
  • 4. Germany
  • 5. Greece
  • 6. Spain
  • 7. Switzerland
  • 8. United Kingdom of Great Britain
  • 9. United States of America

IV. APPLICATION PROCEDURE FOR ON-SITE OFWS

1. OFWs shall submit the following to the POLOs:

  • a. Accomplished Application Form for Special Cash Assistance, downloadable at the POLO’s website/social media account (see also www.dole-akap.owwa.gov.ph);
DOLE-AKAP sa OFW
Screen capture of dole-akap.owwa.gov.ph
  • b. Copy of Passport or Travel Document;
  • c. Proof of overseas employment, i.e., valid verified overseas employment, OEC, residence I.D.s, visa /re-entry visa, among others, or permit to stay in the receiving country;
  • d. Proof of loss of employment on account of COVID19; and
  • e. For OFWs who became undocumented through no fault of their own, proof that the OFW is currently involved in an ongoing case (e.g., case reference number, case endorsement stamped by POLO, among others).

2. After submission of complete documents, the POLOs shall evaluate the application within 5 working days, and notify the OFW on the status of his/her application within 5 working days.

3. If the application is approved, the POLO shall release the USD200.00 through bank transfer / money remittance.

V. APPLICATION PROCEDURE FOR OFWS WHO HAVE BEEN REPATRIATED / BALIK-MANGGAGAWA

1. OFWs who have been repatriated to the Philippines and Balik-Manggagawa shall submit the following to the OWWA Regional Welfare Offices (RWOs):

  • a. Accomplished Application Form for Special Cash Assistance, downloadable at the www.dole-akap.owwa.gov.ph;
  • b. Copy of Passport or Travel Document;
  • c. Proof of overseas employment, i.e,. valid verified overseas employment, OEC, residence I.D.s, visa / re-entry visa, among others, or permit to stay in the receiving country; and 
  • d. Proof of loss of employment on account of COVID19.

2. After submission of complete documents, the RWOs shall evaluate the application within 5 working days, and notify OFWs on the status of his/her application within 5 working days.

3. If the application is approved, the DOLE Regional Office shall release the P10,000 through money remittance / Peso Net.

[Note: For Filipino workers in the formal sector affected by the ECQ, see 5,000 Pesos Assistance for Workers under the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP)]

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279 thoughts on “P10,000 for Overseas Filipino Workers under DOLE-AKAP for OFWs”

    2. JUANITA Candelario

      Hi juanita candelario po isa po ako balik mangagawa naapektuhan ng covid 19 lockdown dto po sa pilipinas ..tanong lng po kc yong form po na cnasabi neo na dowlonable ..pagkatpos po ba download saan po pwd epasa or saan po pwd send ..kc po dhil po sa lockdown at wala po masakyan papunta po sa OWWA ..pano po makapagapply sa 10.000 na tulong po ng dole -akap sa OWWA…

    6. Marites L. Lais

      Hi popwdi maka kuha form para maka apply na ma sent ko po fligth ko sana april 10 na cancel dahil sa covid 19

    11. pnl

      Hi Rafael. Kailangan yatang unahing piliin ang “Region,” tapos lalabas na ang options ng “Province”. Good luck.

    13. Rosemarie J Caubang

      Sir paano nman po kming mga wlang sahud pati po pagkain ndi po kmi binibigyan ng employer namin

    16. Carolyn galamgam juadalena

      Hello po isa po akong ofw galing kuwait Nong April 7 2020 na naquarantine po sa chateau royale na magdadalawang buwan n po ngaun june 7 2020 tpos n po ang pil up q sa dole OWWA nong may 8 2020 my reply nmn agad ang owwa kinabukasan paano o SaaN ko dapat iclaim ang 10k salamat po ?

    17. Larry jay R. Sandoval

      saan poh mkikita kng approve n poh ung pg online reg. sa CASH ASSISTANCE poh mam/sir ty po

    19. pnl

      Hi Rowena, Joseph, Richard. Sabi ng Guidelines ay magiging available and forms sa POLO/OWWA website o sa social media account nila. Baka nag-break lang sila dahil Good Friday. Idadagdag sa post kapag naging available na ang form. Good luck.

    20. enel

      paano po kung undocumented ang isang ofw or isang run away .pero ng work po sa isang restaurant s..nahinto dahil sa covid19 ..may pag asa po b cya mktanggap ng financial assistance ng programa ng dole.. reply po sana kau

    21. Daisy biago

      Good morning po makaavail po ba ako napauwe po ako nung March 5 bago maglockdown sabi po ibabalik ako sa agent q pero pinauwe ako bgla.. Pano makakuha NG form thanks po

    23. pnl

      Hi Enel. Pwede naman undocumented ayon sa Guidelines, pero pakitingnan ang ibang mga requirements na nakalista sa taas kung paano maging qualified ang undocumented OFW. Good luck.

    24. Opelia villahermisa

      Good morning po puede po ba dito maka avail 11 months na po nag stay sa pinas na hindi na naka balik sa taiwan

    25. Amalia

      Pano po mag pasa ng mga requirement tina try ku nman po bakit ayaw?ano po ba dapat kong gawin.tska san po ako kukuha ng proof of guidelines ?

    26. pnl

      Hi Amalia. Pasensiya na, ngunit di namin nasubukang mag-fill up. Mas mainam siguro na yung nakasubmit ay mag-share kung paano ang ginawa nila. Good luck.

    29. rahima sahim esmail

      kailangn ba nmin pumunta sa polo para mabigyan. ng form oil up nmin o saan po mkukuha ang form

    31. Ian

      Sir d naman po gumagana itong website na binigay nyo kaya pl s notes nyo n binabasa ko na-croosedout

    33. pnl

      Hi Ian. I’m not sure why, but we still can access the website. In other previous government transactions we’ve handled, the kind of web browse matters. We’re using Safari. Tried it in Firefox and, true enough, it’s not working. Try other web browsers and let us know which one works. Good luck.

    38. pnl

      Hi Floro. Available online dati. Hindi na namin nasundan kung open pa ang application o meron pang ibang pwedeng pagkunan ng form. Good luck.

    43. Juverme martin soy

      Sir,kakauwi KO Lng galing riyadh KSA Last march 15,2020…makaka avail po ba ako sa DOLE AKAP OFW’S..

    44. pnl

      Hi Juverme. Saklaw ng Guidelines ang repatriated OFWs at Balik-Manggagawa, basta pasok sa mga requirements. Good luck.

    46. Teresa Ignacio

      Nsa macau husbnad q since start lockdown sa macau wla n sia nging pasok.so ask q lng pwede bng un family d2 s pinas magapply at san ahenxa magaapply to avail un SAC.?

    50. Felino b. Rivero jr.

      Sir ako po ay dpa naka bakasyon tapos na contrata ko d2 ksa.3yrs na ako d2,kasali po ba ako sa cash assistance sa owwa.

    51. pnl

      Hi Felino. Kailangang magsumite ng katunayan na natanggal sa trabaho dahil sa covid-19, ayon sa Guidelines. Good luck.

    53. JOCELYN

      Hi po bkit po hindi available ang link actually khapon pa po ako nag tra try, d2 po ako sa Kuwait na.terminated po ako s kumpanya dhil po s covid 19, pls help po maka fill-up ng form.malaking tulong po.yan,.maraming salamat po, asahan.ko po ang response ?

    57. Irma tayoyo

      Pano po makukuha ang financial assistance pag nka pag fill up n po ng form… isa rn po aqng OFW n Paalis n po sna ngayong April 15.

    58. pnl

      Hi Hernane. Saklaw ng Guidelines ang parehong seabased at landbased, kaya covered ang seaman basta pasok sa mga requirements. Good luck.

    59. Walid casan saripada

      How to aply to food assistance and the 200 dollars for the affected for covid 19

    60. Ruby - Ann Cajolo Tawtawan

      Hello po sir & mam,
      Isa po akung ofw dto sa kuwait kasalukuyan na nasalantaan ng covid19,.sa ngayun po Wala po kaming pasok,.no work no pay,.malaking pirwesyo po sa Amin ang covid19,nais ko po sana maka avail ng 10k cash assistance na manggaling sa polo owwa sana po isa po ako na kwalipikado sa para sa 10k cash assistance.pakiusap po Baka pwede nyo sent day email ko ang application form po,at pa teach na rin po Kung paano I download at San po I submit after maka pag fill up sa application form,maraming salamat po,God bless!

    65. Mark Anthony Ragasa

      Good afternoon,Ako nga po pala si Mark Anthony Ragasa na kakauwi lang po ng june 25,2020 dahil nawalan po ako ng trabaho dahil sa covid19 gusto ko po sanang malaman kung paanu po ako mkakakuha ng OWWA benefits salamat po.

  2. Aileen M. Garcia

    Good day po … ako po si Aileen Garcia
    from Kuwait. ask ko po if makaka avail po
    ba ako ng Financial Assist. ? kase po ako po
    ay nawalan ng visa last 2018 of December
    sa dahilang nag file kmi ng kaso sa amin amo
    regarding sa hndi pag bigay ng sahod 3 months
    kasalukuyan po on going ang kaso ko po nag
    kataon po na inabutan po ako ng Crisis kaya
    nahinto po ang pag punta ko sa court po. sana
    po masagot nyo po kung paano po gagawin ko
    Maraming Salamat po ??

    Reply ↓
    1. pnl

      Hello Aileen. Ayon sa guidelines ng DOLE, kung documented ang OFW, pwede sa financial assistance. Pati ang “undocumented” na OFWs, kaya isa sa mga dokumento o impormasyon na kailangan isumite ay ang detalye
      sa kaso (tulad ng case number, case endorsement stamped ng POLO, o iba pa). Pwede naman magtanong sa POLO. Ingat, kabayan, at good luck.

    2. Crizylyhyn del carmen

      Hi po, just want to clarify, if we can complete all the documents needed, the instruction is submit it to regional offices not online submission. The question po is that, is the government offices like owwa, open nowadays? And is there a deadline for this one?

    3. pnl

      Hi Crizy. Baka linawin ng DOLE o OWWA ang paraan ng pagsa-submit (tulad ng CAMP, pwede electronic at hindi kailangan pumunta). Wala namang sinasabing deadline sa Guidelines. I-update namin ang post kung merong paglilinaw na gagawin ang DOLE o OWWA. Good luck.

    1. pnl

      Hello Elizabeth. Isumite ang mga requirements sa POLO (kung nasa abroad). Yung ibang procedures nakasaad sa post. Ingat, kabayan.

  4. Daryl Legaspi tan

    hi I’m Daryl tan need ko po ng ayuda ng goberno kc no work no pay poh ako at wala npoh akung pambiling pagkain dto poh ako sa Kuwait jleeb. sa salon ng work

    Reply ↓
    1. pnl

      Hi Daryl. Paki-contact ang POLO at isumite ang mga requirements. Nakasulat sa post kung ano-ano ang mga requirements. Ingat, kabayan.

    1. pnl

      Hi Lita. Kung nasa abroad, sa POLO. Kung nasa Pilipinas, sa OWWA Regional Welfare Office. Nakasulat po iyan sa post, pati na ang iba pang hakbang sa pag-apply. Good luck.

    3. Marc Arnold B. Bombio

      Ako po si marc arnold bombio dito po sa abu dhabi, nawalan po ako nang work noong march 12 p po dahil sa covid 19 at no work no pay po ako. Paano po b maga register online para maka avail ako ng benipisyo ng gobyerno. Salamat po

    4. pnl

      Hi Marc. Ayon sa press release ng DOLE, maglalabas daw sila ng iba pang detalye sa AKAP. Hintayin natin. Good luck.

    6. Renie Ren Cortez De guzman

      Wala po bang online? Di pi ba bawal na lumabas dahil sa covid? Nasa pinas po ako… Dipo ba ita transfer sa bank namin..salamat

    7. pnl

      Hi Renie. Hindi maliwanag sa Guidelines kung powede online (tulad ng sa CAMP). Sabi naman sa press release ng DOLE na magbibigay sila ng updates tungkol dito. Idadagdag natin sa post kung meron ng update. Good luck.

    8. Aileen Goite

      How to submit or fill my requirements?d link u’ve sent is not working po.is there any link to follow Po so that I can avail and submit my requirements please…

    11. pnl

      Hi Cherremy. Kung napadala mo na, nasa kamay na ng OWWA o DOLE ito. Mayroon silang limang araw para i-evaluate ang application at limang araw para i-notify ang applicant. Good luck.

  6. Elesea aquiatan

    Hello po.paano po pag submit ng mga documents. Ito bay ipapasa namin sa polo or pwide namin submit by online? Maraming salamat po sa sagot.

    Reply ↓
    1. pnl

      Hello Elesea. Sabi sa press release ng DOLE, ipopost pa lang ang mga detalye sa susunod na mga araw. Baka pwede online, tulad ng ginawa sa CAMP. Hintayin na lang siguro na lumabas ang ibang detalye. Good luck.

  7. Rachel samotea

    Saan po ako Maka Kuha NG form?
    Hindi ko kasi makita sa link NG dole owwa..
    Sana po Maka avail at mka rply po kayo gipit po kc closure napo kmi dto sa mahabola.

    Reply ↓
    1. pnl

      Hi Rachel. May form na kasama sa guidelines, pero sabi kasi ng guidelines ay magiging available ang form online. Hindi pa nakapaskil sa OWWA website o sa social media. Update natin ang post pag available na ang form. Good luck.

  8. Jeanie

    Hello I’m jeanie currently at kuwait…
    Makakaavail po ba ako?? Sumahod naman po kami ng march pero d namin alam kung sasahod ba kami ngayong April at kung buo ba???kaya gusto ko po sana malaman kung makakaavail aq???

    Reply ↓
    1. pnl

      Hi Jeanie. Sabi sa guidelines na kailangang may pruweba na NATANGGAL sa trabaho. Hintayin natin ang clarification ng DOLE. Good luck.

    1. pnl

      Hi Rexson. Hindi pa namin nakikita kung may ibang form. Yung standard form, nakalagay ang “barangay,” ibig sabihin sa Pilipinas. Pero hintayin natin yung form kung maging available na online. Good luck.

  10. Josefa P. Bosquillos

    Good day po sir/madam, ako po ay si gng. Josefa P. Bosquillos ask me po if lahat ng valid documents ay personal ba is submitted sa polo office?

    Reply ↓
    1. pnl

      Hello Josefa. Hindi malinaw sa guidelines, pero sabi sa press release ng DOLE na maglalabas sila ng iba pang detalye sa susunod na mga araw. I-update natin ang post kung lumabas na ang detalye. Good luck.

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