Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sherwin Gatchalian warned Sunday the government may need an additional P7 billion to prepare for a possible large-scale repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) if tensions in the Middle East escalate.
Gatchalian said the total funding requirement for bringing Filipino workers home—including undocumented nationals—could reach about P13 billion.
“If we already have P6 billion and the total requirement is P13 billion, then we still need to find about P7 billion,” he said in a radio interview.
The issue was raised during a recent Senate hearing where the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said more resources would be needed if the regional conflict worsens.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac told lawmakers the agency can still manage repatriation under current conditions but warned that a sudden surge in requests from Filipinos abroad could quickly exhaust available funds.
Emergency repatriation efforts are financed through the Emergency Repatriation Fund administered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan said the fund currently has limited capacity to support a large-scale evacuation.
Under the 2026 General Appropriations Act, the Emergency Repatriation Fund was allocated P1.286 billion, which increased to about P1.76 billion after adding P474 million in continuing funds.
Caunan said about 15 percent of the fund had already been used as of March, leaving roughly P1.5 billion for the rest of the year.
Based on OWWA projections, the remaining amount could cover the repatriation of around 10,000 overseas Filipinos if the average cost per worker reaches P150,000.
Data presented to senators showed that about 2.4 million Filipinos are currently living and working in the Middle East.
Gatchalian also said proposals to suspend excise taxes on petroleum products should be carefully studied despite concerns over rising global oil prices.
He warned that removing the excise tax would significantly reduce government revenues and could lead to cuts in public services.
