Four-term Senator Loren Legarda is pushing for the protection of Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFW) money remittances stressing that this would continue to be among her priorities.
“The money remitted by OFWs to their beneficiaries in the Philippines goes through intermediaries or financial institutions. In the course of transfer, the amount supposedly remitted are subject to various fees and usurious charges, thereby depleting the amount to be received by the beneficiaries,” Legarda said in filing Senate Bill (SB) 10.
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Legarda cited data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that personal remittances in 2021 constituted 8.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 8.5 percent of its gross national income and has previously stressed that “ promotion of the welfare of Filipinos abroad is one of the pillars of the country’s foreign policy.”
According to World Bank Philippines was the fourth largest remittance destination in the world.
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The bill proposes a limit on the amount of remittance fees and charges imposed by intermediaries. It provides up to 50 percent discount to OFWs in sending money to their immediate family members as well as tax deductions to the intermediaries that provide discounts on remittance fees
“It is imperative for the government to protect the money transfers from several fees and incredulous interest rates imposed by financial institutions,” Legarda said.
