The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) will open 10,000 additional scholarship slots this year for children of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), following a record-high trust fund of $368 million for 2026. OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan said the amount marks the highest level of the agency’s trust fund since 1982. “The OWWA Trust Fund is protected, and not just protected, it is also growing,” Caunan said, noting that the fund stood at $350 million in December 2024. “For the first time in OWWA’s history, this is the largest increase in 43 years,” she added. With the increase, OWWA will expand its scholarship program, which currently has 15,000 scholars, by adding 10,000 more slots for qualified OFW dependents. The agency also launched the Alagang OWWA Fund, which will support various welfare programs for OFWs, including health and livelihood assistance both in the Philippines and overseas. “As the fund and trust in OWWA grow, so do the expectations of our OFWs – and we are ready to meet them. Return the fund to the OFWs, return the benefits so they can feel the true care from the government,” Caunan said. She assured members that the agency will safeguard the $25 membership contributions collected from OFWs. As of December 2025, OWWA recorded 2.6 million active members, up by 600,000 from the two million members logged in December 2024.
