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Sacked OWWA chief Ignacio's P1.4-B land deal under probe — DMW

The alleged anomalous P1.4-billion land acquisition deal of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), which supposedly did not have approval by the agency's Board of Trustees, is now under investigation by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). "[DMW] Secretary Hans Cacdac made a statement already, allow me to say this and as a lawyer I would also say this, there's an investigation… I will allow due process to take its course," DMW Undersecretary Patricia Yvonne "PJ" Caunan said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City. On Friday, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac told GMA News Online that former OWWA administrator Arnell Ignacio was removed from his post on the count of "loss of trust and confidence" due to the alleged anomalous P1.4-billion land acquisition deal he entered into but was not authorized by the OWWA Board. Cuanan is replacing Ignacio as administrator of the OWWA. "As the new administrator of OWWA, we will perform the necessary audit, we will seek the required legal opinion from the Department of Justice and we will engage with the Commission on Audit," she said. The new OWWA chief said the land purchase deal under the agency's previous leadership was supposed to be for a "half-way house" or a dormitory-type accommodation of overseas Filipino workers to be located near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1. Cacdac earlier said the agreement was entered into last September 2024. "Let's go back to OWWA law. It says there that the power to purchase a real property… the approval should be with the Board of Trustees of OWWA and the Chairman of the Board is the Secretary of DMW, the Vice Chair is the OWWA Administrator. So the regular process or what is expected is that purchases should go through the Board of Trustees," Caunan said. In a phone interview with reporters, Ignacio said he would address the matter in a proper forum as he declined to provide a statement in the meantime. The axed OWWA administrator, however, expressed "shock" about the ongoing developments. OFW Fund intact Amid the controversy surrounding the land purchase deal, Cuanan said the P1.4-billion fund "did not come from the trust fund." She was referring to the OWWA Fund, a pool of funds coming from contributions of member-OFWs, seafarers, and their employers. Budget documents showed the 2025 OWWA Fund stands at P2.973 billion. This is on top of the P3.409-billion fund for the agency under the General Appropriations Act (GAA). "So it's with the government budget, the GAA. So intact 'yung pera nu'ng trust fund. Hindi ito trust fund para wala na parang paninisi, diretsuhin ko na," Caunan said. (So it's with the government budget, the GAA. So the money for the trust fund is intact. It's not a trust fund that—, let me be frank, as if others are being blamed.) "The OFW Fund is sacred… we are very serious about… We take this very seriously," she said. Asked if there are other officials being probed, the new OWW chief said, "What we can say is that I think there is an investigation already..." Cacdac earlier said that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has already been informed about the issue and that "there will be a corresponding case to be filed in the appropriate office or authority." — VDV, GMA Integrated News