OFWs to stop sending dollars to families here

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Scores of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are sustaining a boycott on the remittance of their hard-earned dollars as a way of seeking the resignation of President Estrada, a sectoral representative said over the weekend.

Rep. Omar Fajardo (OFW party-list) said the campaign, launched shortly after the jueteng disclosures, is now gaining momentum particularly among Filipinos in the Middle East.

"Our estimate is that the annual $7 billion remittances will be slashed by as much as one-half," Fajardo said during a prayer rally led by former President Corazon Aquino here last Saturday.

OFWs in the Middle East account for $1 billion of the annual remittance average.

The congressman pointed out that workers in the US and Filipino migrants, who send an average of $2.5 billion annually, are also starting to join the boycott.

Fajardo clarified that they have no actual figures from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or the Philippine National Bank (PNB), relying only on the feedback from various OFW organizations abroad.

"As of November, most families of OFW have been receiving an average of only $200. In the past years, OFWs sents as much as $3,000 for the Christmas holidays as early as October," he said.

The congressman explained that most OFWs have opted to put their money in banks overseas, remitting only modest amounts for the basic needs of their families.

"This will surely affect the government’s dollar reserves since OFWs earning less than $10,000 monthly are exempt from paying taxes. A majority of them earn less than that," Fajardo pointed out.

He said political and economic instability triggered by the jueteng scandal have discouraged OFWs from remitting more of their salaries.

"News of banks closing or being absorbed by other banks has scared them off. No one wants to remit through the PNB," he said.

Fajardo noted that remittances peaked to some $9 billion in 1997 amidst the Asian financial crisis. Economists said the Philippine economy could have collapsed were it not for the remittances.

Fajardo warned that the effect of the current boycott will be felt this January since even the families receiving dollars want to hold on to their foreign currencies for as long as possible.

He pointed out that OFWs have not been fully satisfied with the Estrada administration’s program for those returning home.

"The government has not come up with an effective program to assist returning OFWs in the area of investing their retirement pay," Fajardo said.