New OWWA administrator PY Caunan
First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos opened the new OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) Lounge at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1, with New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation CEO Ramon S. Ang, new Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator PY Caunan, and Pasay City Mayor Imelda Calixto-Rubiano.
“The one that opened at NAIA Terminal 1 is a big lounge, compared to the one inside the airport that was closed since it was only small,” said Caunan. “Then, the lounge at Terminal 3 opened. The new one at Terminal 1 will serve many OFWs courtesy of OWWA and DMW (the Department of Migrant Workers).
“With the support and generosity of the New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation, we have a very beautiful OFW lounge, with a panoramic view of the airport.
OWWA administrator PY Caunan (right) with chef Florabel Co
“There are OWWA and DMW counters outside the lounge,” added Caunan. “There are also counters for the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. The counters can process their membership, renewal, and even their e-card. Inside, they will have access to wi-fi, charging station and food by chef Florabel while the OFWs are waiting for their flight.”
For a year now, the OFW Lounges at NAIA 1 and 3 have served more than 1.5 million OFWs.
Caunan also said there is a storage area for large baggage, since the bags will not be allowed inside the lounge.
Multi-faith prayer room
She also thanked NNIC CEO Ramon S. Ang for building a multi-faith prayer room. “It’s important to give our OFWs a chance to say their prayers in a quiet and solemn room even for a few minutes. OFWs are commenting the prayer room has an aesthetic feel and vibe. I hope they will be happy with the lounge when they are at NAIA 1.”
In time for Christmas and the New Year, the OFW Lounge is the first gift of the government and NNIC to our OFWs, our Bagong Bayani. “OWWA is always here for our OWFs,” said Caunan. “In good times, not-so-good times for every OFW. As we open the lounge, we do not forget our kababayan whom OWWA and DMWs help and will help in the future. They can look forward to OWWA, and they will not feel alone.”
Last September, OWWA had the ceremonial turnover of the donated medical truck from the Office of the First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos in support of the OWWA initiative to have it registered under the PhilHealth Yakap program. OWWA administrator Caunan announced that the truck will provide free diagnostics for OFWs.
The truck is parked at OWWA’s central office in Pasay City, but it will be roving. “The second component of it is, we want it to be a complete solution,” Caunan added. “It doesn’t just end with the check-up. We partnered with the Alagang OWWA Botika (drugstore) and Vidacure, the Gamot-registered PhilHealth partner.
“After getting checked, your bloodwork and the prescription, they can go straight to our drugstore for maintenance drugs prescribed, get enrolled there are you can get free access to over 70 different medicines for free. The allowance is P20,000 every year.
“In the event there are needs that cannot be catered to by the two companies, OWWA has a Kalinga desk partnered with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and the Office of the President Action Center. We endorse cases and request for guarantee letters if there is a need for them for their medical needs to be covered financially. That’s also something that we extend.
“I know that this is just one, but it’s the start, because what we want is for us to have the same facility in all our 17 regional offices.”
Early on, when Caunan was still a practicing lawyer, her specialization was OFW law. “So for so many years, I’ve been doing pro-bono work for OFWs, advocacy work. On the labor side, most people know that my specialization is land-based OFWs.
Early on, when Caunan was still a practicing lawyer, her specialization was OFW law. ‘So for so many years, I’ve been doing pro-bono work for OFWs, advocacy work’
“Even before the DMW was established in 2022, I was part of the organization and one of the resource persons and representing organizations in the hearings towards the start of the department, before I became the U-Sec (undersecretary), the first for policy and international cooperation—also the youngest—under the leadership of the late DMW Secretary Susan ‘Toots’ Ople.”
In two years, Caunan was able to facilitate signing of bilateral agreements with different countries—Austria, Saudi Arabia, Czech Republic. She became the head of the negotiating panel in Saudi Arabia. “We were able to strengthen the bilateral labor cooperation,” Caunan said.
With the issues that happened before Caunan’s term, she plans to have good governance in OWWA. “This may sound like a cliché, but we learn from the past, make institutional changes so that it will not happen again, and we have to move forward and focus on our mandate.”
Since she assumed office last May, Caunan has been constantly hearing about OFWs who need help for repatriation and medical needs. “We have to address those seeking for help,” she said. “I know there are limited funds. I’m a Taurus, that’s why I’m stubborn and hard-headed, ever since I was young.”
She knew there was limited funds when she came in and took office. “But that will not stop us from finding partners in the private sector and government to make the health services available for OFWs. We continue to lobby for a bigger budget for OWWA.”
Caunan wants to be known for her serbisyong may puso. “We are looking at solutions, and not focusing on the problems and challenges,” she said. “Government is supposed to help, that’s why they are there. Kung hindi kayang tumulong, huwag na lang.
“Kami sa OWWA, our brand of service is ‘Alagang OWWA,’ because we want OWWA to be known as ‘Serbisyong May Puso.’ Serbisyong gagawin ang lahat para makatulong sa OFWs. That is the legacy I want to leave behind. We are looking for solutions, not problems. The government always helps.”
Relatively new to government service, Caunan, who’s only 42, wants everything fast, coming from the private sector. “I don’t want to see people lining up. I think that’s the biggest challenge. That’s what I want to achieve in the next two years.
“Streamlining, digitalization, more programs and benefits for our OWWA members. I want to showcase the success stories of the 97 percent of OWWA members abroad—the story of success of our OFWs, not just by providing for their families but becoming leaders in their industries abroad and globally. That the Philippines is doing it, and these are for OFWs.
“We must help those who need help, and we must recognize the success stories of our OFWs.”
