Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao has filed a measure that seeks to protect the remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
The senator stressed that it is imperative for the government to safeguard these hard-earned remittances of OFWs from usurious interest rates and fees charged by financial institutions.
Under Senate Bill (SB) 1365, financial intermediaries and non-bank financial intermediaries may impose fees for services rendered in sending the money of OFWs to their immediate family members, subject to the following discounts:
• Not more than US$ 500 or its equivalent to other currencies -50 percent of the remittance fee.
• US$ 500 – not more than USD 1,000 or its equivalent – 40 percent of the remittance fee;
• US$ 1,000 not more than USD 1,500 or its Equivalent – 30 percent of the remittance fee;
• US$ 1,500 – not more than USD 2,000 or its equivalent – 20 percent of the remittance fee; and
• More than US$ 2,000 or its equivalent in other currencies -10 percent of the remittance fee.
Pacquiao added that the provision will provide incentives to all establishments that will provide discounts.
The discounts granted to OFWs by financial or non-bank financial intermediaries shall be treated as an ordinary and necessary expense deductible from the gross income of the seller falling under the category of itemized deductions.
According to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos for the first months of 2019 totaled $22 billion, an increase of 3.6 percent from the previous year’s $21.2 billion, making the Philippines as the fourth largest remittance destination in the world.
