Recruitment agencies want government to stabilize peso

MANILA, Philippines - Recruitment officials yesterday called on the government to step in and immediately take necessary measures to “stabilize” the value of the peso in the midst of reports that the recruitment industry is getting jittery because the currency is becoming stronger.

Jackson Gan, Filipino Association of Manpower Exporters Inc. (FAME) vice president, said the P41 to a dollar exchange rate by the end of the year poses a threat to millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the recruitment industry.

“The increasing value of the peso against the dollar will impact on the families of OFWs remitting hundreds of dollars and will further drive exporters to losses in their product values,” Gan said.

Gan said the decrease in the value of the dollar would lessen the amount of money OFW families are receiving from abroad.

He said that at this time, the average $100-$200 a month at the current rate of P43 to $1 means remittance of just P8,600 or even less for an OFW family.

“Every OFW family would get less remittance if the rate goes to P41, meaning, they will only get P8,200 even less,” Gan said.

He said even recruitment agencies would be adversely affected by the peso depreciation since many of their agreements for service or placement fees paid by their principals were set at P45 or P47 to $1.

By the time they are paid, the rate would have gone down to P43 to $1, he said.

Gan also urged the government to increase food production through lower interest-bearing loans, production assistance or training, farm-to-market roads, aggressive palay purchases by the National Food Authority and irrigation as other ways to lessen the impact of inflation on the people.

“The hike in inflation is decreasing the amount of goods and foods our OFW families are getting. With the lower amount of pesos they are receiving due to the increase of the peso’s value, our OFWS also have to work harder and send more dollars to their families in order to continue the standard of living they have achieved through their dollar earners,” he said.