The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) should open a special loan window for returning Filipino migrant workers displaced by the global economic crisis, a labor leader said.

"This will put a portion of the OWWA's multibillion-peso welfare fund for OFWs to greater productive use, for the direct benefit of its contributors," said Ernesto Herrera, secretary-general of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

Likewise, the TUCP urged returning OFWs to engage in new livelihood projects and avail of several incentives for small shops under the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise (BMBE) Act.

In a press statement, Herrera said that each departing OFW contributes US$25 to the OWWA. Based on the estimated one million Filipinos leaving for overseas employment every year, the OWWA collects a total of around $25 million or P1.2 billion in membership fees every year.

According to the group, the fees go to a welfare fund that provides benefits, including low-cost loans, to migrant workers and their families in the Philippines.

The former chairman of the Senate labor, employment and human resources development committee said the BMBE Law, or Republic Act 9178, grants incentives and privileges to barangay-based micro enterprises with assets of less than P3 million.

The law supports the development of small manufacturing, processing, trading and service shops through the grant of lucrative tax advantages as well as gainful non-tax benefits.

Under the law, certified or participating investors enjoy exemption from income taxes and minimum wages rates, dedicated credit windows from selected financial institutions and guarantors, and pay only minimal local taxes and fees.

The implementation of the law was initially aided by a P300-million special fund administered by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Council.

The state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) is also supporting the fund, which is being used to build up small shops through technology transfer, production and management training and marketing assistance.

Herrera earlier warned of a "reverse migration" by OFWs forced to return home, as companies around the world scale down their operations and lay off workers or simply allow job contacts to expire without any renewal.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has acknowledged that an estimated 50,000 OFWs may have already been dislocated, or are about to be displaced, as a result of the global economic slump.