GMA vows to work for lower remittance charges for OFWS

LOS ANGELES (via PLDT) – President Arroyo said Saturday she will work for the lowering of remittance fees paid by overseas Filipinos sending money through banks.

Speaking during Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Mrs. Arroyo told some 4,000 Filipino-Americans lower remittance fees would "make it easier" for about $7 billion from OFWs in the United States and other countries to flow to the Philippines.

"One of the fruits of my (state) visit which I would announce here to you much earlier is that on the part of the Bush administration, the United States is launching a project to facilitate the flow of remittances around the world back to the Philippines," she said.

"This project would improve the lives of Filipinos by lowering the cost of remittance transactions."

Although Filipino-Americans comprise 34 percent of overseas Filipinos, they remitted 71 percent of the total foreign exchange sent to the Philippines during the past six years, Mrs. Arroyo added.

There are an estimated seven million Filipinos all over the world.

Secretary Heherson Alvarez, presidential adviser on overseas Filipino communities, said they would try to bring down the remittance fee to $1.50 per transaction.

At present OFWs are being charged $4 per transaction, regardless of the amount being remitted.

Alvarez said seven Philippine banks would serve as correspondent banks through which remittances of OFWs would be processed by American banks at a lower cost.

Six of the seven Philippine banks are: Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippine National Bank, Metrobank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. and Equitable PCI Bank, he added.

Alvarez said the plan to lower remittance fees for OFWs would be worked out by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

Alvarez said US Ambassador to Manila Francis Ricciardonne told Mrs. Arroyo before she left Saturday that the lowering of remittance fees is "as good as sealed" even before the signing of the agreement.

"The (US) does not look at this as a financial aid to the Philippines but this is a technical assistance on how we can increase the efficiency of our dollar remittances to fuel the country’s economy," he said.

An ADB study showed about $7 billion in remittances from OFWs could be raised to more than $10 billion once the plan is implemented this year, he added.

The lowering of remittance fees for OFWs will be spelled out in a memorandum of agreement to be signed by Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho with officials of the US Treasury Department.

The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop of Los Angeles Roger Cardinal Mahoney.

Mrs. Arroyo arrived here last night for an overnight stay en route to Washington for talks with US President George W. Bush. –Marichu Villanueva