by KRISTY ANNE C. TOPACIO-MANALAYSAY
www.ofwjournalism.net

MANILA — SUCCESSFULLY building a business after working abroad, Alberto Limbo Perez still couldn�t be pinned down in his own country. Luckily for him, a recently-built government center can give him that chance.

�Who would reject the opportunity of working abroad?� the 47-year-old Perez said in Tagalog. �Earnings from abroad are a big help to meet our needs. It�s a waste to let the opportunity pass.�

This comes from a man whose seven-year-old work abroad is being poured on a house with swimming pool at a cost of P4 million, almost half of what the Philippine government spent on a building to mold Filipinos like him to either stay home for good or go back to migrant work.

The building in Intramuros, Manila, was funded by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration with a P7-million purse (US$140,000 at US$1=P48) according to Labor Attache to Japan Reydeluz Conferido.

Conferido said the National Reintegration Center for Overseas Filipino Workers would allow temporary migrant Filipino workers with plans to return permanently here to adjust first by allowing them go back to overseas work.

According to Conferido, the Center could help these Filipino workers find jobs anywhere in the world while preparing for that time he or she could eventually return.

�The past program was intended for OFWs who have decided to stay here for good,� the country�s labor attach� to Japan said during the launch of the center early March.

It�s this past program, begun at the start of the new millennium and formally launched three years ago, that the new project builds on, Conferido added.

�The personal reintegration has been further enriched to zero in on the abilities of the OFWs and help them match the environment in the Philippines a lot better, taking advantage of their particular expertise and skills and match them to existing opportunities in the Philippines,� Conferido said.

�If the OFW is not ready yet to return to the Philippine for good, the same personal reintegration program is going to help them still look for appropriate opportunities abroad,� he added.