SENATOR Cynthia A. Villar has filed Senate Bill No. 1014 or the “Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) Remittance Protection Act” which seeks to protect the remittance of our migrant workers.
A known advocate of OFW, Villar has been crafting measures to ensure the protection and welfare of OFWs while working abroad, as well as their families.
In filing the bill, Villar cited the state’s declaration of policy in recognizing the significant contribution of OFWs to the national economy through their foreign exchange remittances.
As such, she noted that the state should adopt measures to protect the hard-earned money they remit home against usurious interests and exorbitant fees charged by financial institutions that deplete the value of their remittances.
“The state shall also provide them and their families adequate education and training on financial literacy, such as financial planning and planning of finances, or savings,” also said Villar.
She said these would help ensure a source of livelihood even after their employment abroad.
Furthermore, the senator said her bills intends to lessen the burden of OFWs in sending remittance to their families by minimizing the amount the remittance fees imposed by intermediaries and deducting tax to intermediaries based on the services rendered to OFWs.
Villar emphasized that remittances from working abroad are dependable source of funds for our OFWs and their families.
In 2021, she related that cash remittances sent by OFWs hit a new high, reflecting the improvement in the global economy amid the coronavirus disease.
Based on the data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), remittances coursed through banks rose by 5.1% or $31.418 billion in 2021 from $29.903 billion in 2020.
The United States at 40% was the biggest source of remittances in 2021. It followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Taiwan, Qatar and South Korea.
These countries, Villar said, account for more than 3/4 or 79.8% of cash remittances during the year.
According to Villar, the contribution of migrant workers to the Philippine economy is greatly appreciated and the inflow of remittances from overseas Filipinos remained resilient amid the lingering Covid pandemic.
Due to high paying jobs, Villar said many Filipinos aspire to work abroad. This also give them the opportunity to secure a better quality of life and future for their families and loved ones.
