Villar pushes IPO for OFWs

Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. said he wants to give more investment opportunities to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) by requiring government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) in a privatization program to set aside 20 percent of their total initial public offering (IPO) of shares to OFWs.

Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, underscored the need to give more incentives to OFWs, whose annual remittances have contributed largely to the annual growth of the country’s economy.

"It is a sad but common plight to see overseas workers who, after long periods of working away from home, come back to the Philippines with only a few pesos and perhaps a few pieces of small appliances to show for their long years of hard work," he said.

Under Villar’s Senate Bill No. 1093, OFWs will be given priority in subscribing to total IPO shares of GOCCs.

Villar said the bill would not only enable business to harnness an erstwhile untapped source of investment capital, but would also give OFWs an investment alternnative so they may increase their income and manage their hard-earned money wisely.

"It is high time that we acknowledge the importannce and contribution of our economic heroes, not only in words, but in concrete programs," he said.

Villar said OFW remittances from abroad reach more than $5 billion, but lamented that there have been very few measures that seek to help them in investing their money or educate them on the various investment instruments available.

As a result, he said many OFWs and their families have become victims of pyramid and Ponzi scams. He said the government should help OFWs and their families in their investment needs.

"The Philippine economy would be very bleak without the support of the Filipino worker who toils, separated from his home and country, in his desire to provide a better life for this family," he said.