P100M OFW legal defense fund to be restored

The government is restoring the P100-million Legal Assistance Fund (LAF) for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the budget of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), House Assistant Majority Leader and Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas said on Friday.

“We are counting on the LAF to extend ample legal protection to the growing number of OFWs coming into conflict with the law in their respective host countries,” Gullas, a member of the House committee on appropriations, said.

“As more Filipinos go abroad to seek greener pastures, those getting into potential trouble with the law will also likely increase. The LAF is there to be used exclusively to support their legal defense,” Gullas said.

In the proposed 2012 General Appropriations Act, a fresh allocation of P30 million would keep the LAF at P100 million, said Gullas, also a member of the House committee on labor and employment.

The LAF was first established by law with P100 million, of which P50 million was sourced from the Contingency Fund of the President, P30 million from the Presidential Social Fund, and P20 million from the trust fund of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

The fund is under the supervision of the DFA’s Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers, who is responsible for the provision and overall coordination of all legal aid services to OFWs and other Filipinos abroad.

Gullas said expenses chargeable against the LAF would include the professional fees of foreign lawyers who represent OFWs facing charges, bail bonds to secure the temporary release of those detained, and other costs associated with going to court.