Binay suspends Pag-ibig membership for OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chair Jejomar Binay directed yesterday the Home Development Mutual Fund and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to suspend the implementation of the order that makes Pag-IBIG membership a requisite for departing OFWs.

Binay, chair of the Pag-IBIG Fund board of trustees, also ordered the two agencies to conduct a thorough study and more consultations with the affected sectors.

He said there is a need to review the legal basis and propriety of compelling OFWs to pay in advance the equivalent of six months’ contribution, or P600, to the housing fund as precondition to their departure.

“What is important is that government should assist our OFWs and should not be seen as further imposing burdens on them,” Binay said.

“Aside from reviewing the legal basis for the order, the concerned government agencies should hold more consultations with the affected sectors. There should be transparency in the process,” he added.

POEA Memorandum Circular 06 issued last July 7 mandates all outbound OFWs to pay six months’ worth of Pag-IBIG membership contribution or be unable to get their Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) and leave the country.