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| Secretary Cacdac administers the oath of office to Caunan as new OWWA administrator |
In a shock
announcement, Malacang today said Department of Migrant Workers Undersecretary
Patricia Yvonne Caunan has just been appointed as the new administrator of the
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to replace Arnell Ignacio.
Caunan immediately
took her oath of office before DMW Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac.
No reason was given as
to why Ignacio was sacked, and netizens were quick to speculate that it was
because overseas Filipino workers largely ignored the administration’s
senatorial candidates in the recently concluded election, and instead voted
straight for the 10 candidates handpicked by detained former President Rodrigo
R. Duterte.
In Hong Kong and Macau,
and most of the Middle East for example, the entire “Duter10” won handily over
all other candidates, including those supported by the administration and were
widely expected to dominate the race.
Other netizens alleged
it was because Ignacio remained a staunch supporter of Duterte, who first appointed
him assistant vice president of the Philippine Games and Amusement Corporation
in 2016, before moving him to OWWA as deputy executive director, then deputy administrator
in 2018.
However, DMW insiders
said Malacanang took the move after receiving two so-called “white papers” denouncing Ignacio’s alleged attempts to purchase multi-million peso worth of
land using the OWWA Fund, without prior approval from the OWWA Board.
The first document in the form of a letter from "concerned OWWA employees" was
reportedly sent to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Secretary Cacdac, Office of the Ombudsman and the Commissioner
of Internal Revenue in the latter part of last year, but was not immediately
acted upon.
A second letter was
sent on March 31 this year, in which the unnamed complainants said it had been
more than five months since they filed their complaint with the various named government
departments, but was yet to be acted upon.
In this letter, stamped
as received by the Office of the President, the Office of the Ombudsman and the
BIR, the complainants said they were bothered because Ignacio had publicly said
that Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin had laughed off their allegations.
They accused Ignacio and
OWWA Deputy Administrator Emma Sinclair of conspiring with a certain Mr Medina
in using the OWWA Fund to purchase a piece of land.
“Maliwanag po na itinago sa Board ang pagbili
ng lupa ni Ignacio at Sinclair sa napaka quetionableng proseso gaya ng pag
release ng tseke kay Medina kahit hindi pa complied sa mga documentary requirements;
gaya ng sapilitang pagsasagawa ng supplemental contract na ginawang basis sa
pag refund ng 36 milyong piso kay Mr Medina; gaya ng walang board approval ng
OWWA ang contract to sell, gaya ng walang board approval ng OWWA ang Deed of Sale,
gaya ng walang board approval ng OWWA at ng Seller ang Supplemental Agreement,”
said the agreement.
After their initial
complaint was filed, the letter-writer said Ignacio through Sinclair called
Medina to his office in the middle of the night, and demanded Medina, the supposed
seller of the land, to refund the Php36 million that was given to him earlier.
The letter was unclear
as to the amount involved, but accused the two OWWA officials of squandering
P1.4 billion from the OWWA Fund to buy a worthless piece of land.
The allegations could
not be independently confirmed, but they could explain the unceremonious dismissal
of Ignacio, a move that sparked a lot of concern, if not grief not only among
his colleagues, but also among overseas Filipino workers.
His defenders said Ignacio was hardworking and was genuinely concerned about the welfare of OFWs.
A post on social media
quoted Ignacio as saying he did not begrudge Malacanang for removing him from
his post.
"Kung ito ang
desisyon ng Palasyo, wala akong sama ng loob. Sa lahat ng OFWs at OWWA
employees na naging parte ng aking panunungkulan, maraming salamat. Naglingkod
ako nang buong puso, at mananatili akong tagasuporta ng mga OFW saan man ako
dalhin," Ignacio was quoted as
saying.
Ignacio, who was
appointed OWWA Administrator by President Marcos, in September 2022, is best
known for setting up OFW lounges at Terminals 1 and 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport, and the first OFW Global Center in Hong Kong,
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| Ignacio speaks at the OFW Global Centre in his last official visit to HK |
During his last
official visit to Hong Kong he spoke of setting up another OFW Global Centre in
Taiwan, and of his plan to bring his close friend, comedienne Ai-Ai delas Alas
with him abroad, to help bring cheer to OFWs.
Meanwhile, Caunan, a
lawyer who was appointed DMW Administrator for Policy and International
Cooperation in 2022, said she was honored by the trust and confidence bestowed
on her by President Marcos, and praisedboth Cacdac and the late DMW Secretary Susan Ople.
“Napakapalad ko po—dahil ang dalawang naging
boss ko sa pamahalaan ay tunay na may integridad at malasakit sa mga OFW,” said
Caunan.
Then, addressing Cacdac she added, “Ako mismo
ay naging saksi sa inyong pamumuno sa POEA at OWWA—ang puso ninyo ay nasa bawat
manggagawang Pilipino sa ibang bansa.”
Since her appointment
as DMW USec, Caunan has played a key role in forging 15 bilateral labor agreements
with countries such as Canada, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Qata, Finland, Denmark,
Singapore, Croatia, Slovenia and Kuwait.
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