The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged some Php234 million unpaid loans granted by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to displaced overseas Filipino workers in the last ten years.

COA wants OWWA to exhaust legal remedies to collect the unpaid loans given to these OFWs and their families.

State auditors found in its 2019 annual audit report for OWWA that the agency is facing difficulties in collecting the cash borrowed from the agency.

“OWWA lacks the capacity to enforce the collection mechanism efficiently and the lack of effective monitoring of receivables,” COA said in the report.

This has resulted in the accumulation of past due loans totaling PHP234,384,034.74.

As per the report submitted to OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac, the loans were granted by the central office and regional offices in the National Capital Region and Region I.

COA adds that OWWA should collect the unpaid loans to augment the funds of OWWA to finance its programs which will benefit OFW members as a whole.