Harnessing the OFW power
BIZLINKS By Rey Gamboa
The Philippine Star 01/30/2006
The economic power of our overseas Filipino workers should not just be confined to remittances. One of this column’s readers, Mike Bolos, shares why.
"I read with interest your column (When will the bleeding stop, 13 January 2006) and couldn’t help thinking that if only the government has used such subsidies more effectively, then our country and economy would have been a lot better of.
"As it is, only a few rich gets richer and the foreign companies owning the businesses mentioned are repatriating their profits, taking them out of circulation from the local economy. What I am driving at is that the benefit is not trickling down to many local beneficiaries instead when it could easily be done by making the dollar-awash overseas Filipinos the investors.
"Please consider the following for a more detailed idea on this matter: Economies of scale
"There are now about eight million Filipinos overseas. About three million are located in the Western world either as immigrants or contract workers while the rest are all over with a big number located in the Middle East. From the total population, it could perhaps safely be assumed for the sake of argument that four million are financially better off than the other four million. A $1,000 each in savings that the four million can deploy for investment would amount to a total potential capital of $4 billion or P200 billion.
"It has now been over 30 years since the start of the Filipino Diaspora and the term overseas contract worker (OCW) has long since given way to overseas Filipino worker (OFW). The perception however, that the term OCW impressed in the mind of most people charged with the welfare and affair of the overseas Filipinos has largely remains the same, that, of the helpless construction workers, domestic helpers and such like.
"It has been made more evident by the fact that there has been no consideration at all for the overseas Filipinos at the macro economic level of the government’s economic programs so far. It has escaped the notice of the government that the total make-up of the overseas Filipinos has significantly changed during the course of time.
"To date, the government’s view as far as the overseas Filipinos are concerned has been confined within a box.
"Dependence to and assistance from the government by returning overseas Filipinos have become the centerpiece of the various reintegration programs at the micro-economic level. However, there have been far more failures than successes because not all mortals were meant to become successful businessmen or businesswomen. This situation to a large extent will sadly remain the same in the years to come if the government keeps looking just inside the box. Outside the box
"The government should perhaps look outside the box for answers.
"Earlier it was proposed that the PIATCO-owned NAIA terminal 3 be sold to the overseas Filipinos once all the issues surrounding it have been resolved and is ready for operation.
"The cost of $600 million that has so far been mentioned as the cost of the Terminal is definitely well within the $4 billion dollar potential capital that can be raised from the overseas Filipinos, and with a lot of change to spare.
"Just recently, the ownership resolution of the United Coconut Planters Bank in favor of the government presented an opportunity for the realization of the overseas Filipinos‚ long awaited desire of owning a bank.
"The NAIA Terminal 3 and the UCPB are just two in an endless list of possibilities where the enormous potential of overseas Filipinos‚ capital can be deployed to generate economic activities that will lead to other economic activities, the benefits of which will trickle down to a greater number of beneficiaries who will keep it in the country rather than (allowing it to) be repatriated abroad. Global bond
"What are the mechanics?
"The government needs to acquire ownership of the NAIA Terminal 3 first. To do so, it could raise say $500 million from a global bond offer as it did when it raised $750 million in order to generate enough funds to bankroll the funding requirements of the state-run National Power Corp.
"Once ownership of the project has been established and a corporate entity is set up, the government can start selling shares to the overseas Filipinos. Those who are interested to buy will be asked to deposit their payments for the corresponding number of shares subscribed to up to a certain maximum to a given bank account. After which the share certificates will be issued accordingly.
"While the tasks may seem daunting at first glance, this is not impossible and all that is needed is to get started and to find the right and credible person to lead the endeavor.
"Regardless of the difficulties, it is an endeavor that is well worth undertaking because the ramifications of doing it well are enormous. It could well be the beginning of the overseas Filipinos getting heavily invested in the Philippines.
"NAIA Terminal 3 and UCPB today, perhaps the North and South Luzon Expressways tomorrow, and the National Power Corp., Transco, MRT/LRT, South/North Rail, Maynilad, and other utility companies later on until it all leads to the economic empowerment of the Filipinos and economic and political deliverance of the country.
"With economic empowerment comes the bonus of political and social consciousness that will lead to a better political and peace and order situation, resulting in a better quality of life.
"For all we know, the overseas Filipinos – being the (country’s) modern day heroes – may come to pass. While they have been the country’s economic saviors, they may just become the saviors of themselves as well.
"Let us therefore give the overseas Filipinos a chance by integrating them in the macro-economic level while they are still abroad and can well afford to invest in the Philippines." Hail to poker king Anthony Gabitan
It was a fitting climax to ten months of intense non-wager poker competition that took place at the four different locations of Metro-Manila, Angeles, Tagaytay, and Cebu. Finally, Anthony Gabitan was crowned 2005 Poker King Challenge Champion after a six-hour grueling finals at Airport Casino Filipino Paranaque last Saturday, 28th January 2006. In addition to trophies and gift items and certificates, Gabitan and runners-up Mike Tyler of Cebu and Pico Cheng earned seats for the Philippine Poker Tour Million-Peso Hold‚em Championship scheduled on 8th April 2006 at Airport Casino Filipino Paranaque. Congratulations!! ‘Breaking barrier’ with Australian Ambassador T. Heley
"Breaking Barriers" on IBC (12 p.m. every Wednesday) will feature on Wednesday, 1st February 2006, Ambassador Toney Heley of Australia.
Neighbors sharing strong interests with common values and priorities, partners facing international and regional challenges and working closely to promote regional prosperity and strengthen regional security, this is the Australian-Philippine partnership that has endured six decades.
What is the current status of trade relations between the Philippines and Australia? What are the various programs that have been agreed by both countries? What is Australia‚s response to some trade barrier issues raised by the Filipino agriculture product exporters? What industries would Australian Investors find interesting in the Philippines?
Join us break barriers and gain insights into the views of Ambassador Tony Hely of Australia, on issues related to the 60-year partnership of Australia and the Philippines. Watch it.
Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 4th Floor, 156 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at reydgamboa@yahoo.com or at reygamboa@linkedge.biz. If you wish to view the previous columns, you may visit my website at http://bizlinks.linkedge.biz
Monday, January 30, 2006
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Affordable luxury
Affordable luxury
By Dennis D. Estopace
Reporter
Business Mirror
January 28, 2006
MORE overseas Filipino workers are buying units at the Dolmar Property Ventures Inc.'s medium-rise project in Pasig City since these units offer a combination of semiluxury settings in a highly urbanized environment, an executive of the company told BusinessMirror.
Erwin Pineda, senior manager of Dolmar's business development and marketing division, said that based on the company's experience, OFW families traditionally look for houses often featured in glossy magazines-those with big green front lawns and afford wide distances from their nearest neighbors.
"However, those who have experienced working abroad, especially nurses, are more attuned to condominium living, or one that is near their place of work but offer the security of a gated community," Pineda said.
Hence, there has been an increase in take up of row houses in subdivisions, especially after the real-estate sector slowly recovered from the Asian financial crisis, Pineda said.
Medium-rise condominiums, according to Pineda, are those below nine floors, while high-rises can reach up to 40 floors divided into a maximum of 30 units. Dolmar's Golden Heights Residences project near Fort Bonifacio , Taguig City , has five floors containing 20 units. With three meters of hallway, it's almost like living on a row house, he added.
Dolmar's one-hectare Golden Heights Residence in Pasig City is two kilometers away from the Fort Bonifacio commercial and business district. The company plans to build an L-shaped medium-rise condominium with a 600-square meter oval park after the wide gate entrance.
Pineda said that the first floor would be reserved for commercial spaces and the second floor for parking. Studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and bilevel two-bedroom and three-bedroom units are also being sold by the company.
OFWs, now numbering more than four million in 190 countries worldwide, have been targeted first by the real estate and property development sector and then the retail sector, as the money they send back to the Philippines has spurred consumption.
According to a study on remittances by the Asian Development Bank, each Filipino living and working temporarily or permanently overseas remits an estimated US$340 a month. Ninety percent of a sample population surveyed by the ADB in several host countries said they save money in order to remit money back home. Aside from food, utilities and personal care, their families use remittances on "dwelling-related" expenses.
"What we've noticed is women, either the OFW or the spouse left behind, decide on which housing type-high-rise or medium-rise-they would buy," Pineda said.
Dolmar is selling two-bedroom, two-level units at the same price as a 36-square meter high-rise condo unit. Pineda said these Dolmar units are up to 70-square meters each.
"Women entertainers from Japan would be swift in their decision to relocate their families in a medium-rise condo unit," Pineda said, citing their experience. He, however, declined how many OFWs or women entertainers from Japan have bought units in their Golden Heights project that is still under construction and targeted to be finished in March this year.
Among OFWs who work in Saudi Arabia , for example, they ask their wives and secure approval for the house purchase, Pineda said.
Half of the inquiries they get, he said, are via the company's web site and come from OFWs still working abroad. Most of these inquiries, he said, come from professionals, seafarers and Filipinos working in the medical industry of another country.
Thirty percent of the inquiries are for Dolmar's horizontal properties, especially those in Bulacan.
Pineda said the company prefers OFWs to sign a special power of attorney to delegate transactions to their Philippine-based family members. The SPA appoints the spouse or any relative to act as attorney-in-fact and reserve, pay or sign on the OFW's behalf.
Even as the best option is for OFWs to personally process and sign the papers, the SPA nevertheless helps avoid legal questions in the future, Pineda said.
According to the company's web site, Dolmar was established in 1971 as a privately held corporation engaged in leasing office spaces.
"During the 1970s to 1980s, the company constructed a number of its own buildings in the cities of Makati , Manila and Mandaluyong for office or commercial leasing," it said.
Golden Heights is Dolmar's first venture in midcost, midrise condominiums. The first 86 units of this urban-based project will be ready for occupancy by 2006 after construction began in 2004.
Dolmar Real Estate Development Corp., the Property Ventures's parent company, is one of top 100 stockholders of Tanduay Holdings Inc. (number 70 with 10,133 shares) and First Philippine Holdings Corp. (number 45 with 158,839 shares) as of December 31.
By Dennis D. Estopace
Reporter
Business Mirror
January 28, 2006
MORE overseas Filipino workers are buying units at the Dolmar Property Ventures Inc.'s medium-rise project in Pasig City since these units offer a combination of semiluxury settings in a highly urbanized environment, an executive of the company told BusinessMirror.
Erwin Pineda, senior manager of Dolmar's business development and marketing division, said that based on the company's experience, OFW families traditionally look for houses often featured in glossy magazines-those with big green front lawns and afford wide distances from their nearest neighbors.
"However, those who have experienced working abroad, especially nurses, are more attuned to condominium living, or one that is near their place of work but offer the security of a gated community," Pineda said.
Hence, there has been an increase in take up of row houses in subdivisions, especially after the real-estate sector slowly recovered from the Asian financial crisis, Pineda said.
Medium-rise condominiums, according to Pineda, are those below nine floors, while high-rises can reach up to 40 floors divided into a maximum of 30 units. Dolmar's Golden Heights Residences project near Fort Bonifacio , Taguig City , has five floors containing 20 units. With three meters of hallway, it's almost like living on a row house, he added.
Dolmar's one-hectare Golden Heights Residence in Pasig City is two kilometers away from the Fort Bonifacio commercial and business district. The company plans to build an L-shaped medium-rise condominium with a 600-square meter oval park after the wide gate entrance.
Pineda said that the first floor would be reserved for commercial spaces and the second floor for parking. Studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and bilevel two-bedroom and three-bedroom units are also being sold by the company.
OFWs, now numbering more than four million in 190 countries worldwide, have been targeted first by the real estate and property development sector and then the retail sector, as the money they send back to the Philippines has spurred consumption.
According to a study on remittances by the Asian Development Bank, each Filipino living and working temporarily or permanently overseas remits an estimated US$340 a month. Ninety percent of a sample population surveyed by the ADB in several host countries said they save money in order to remit money back home. Aside from food, utilities and personal care, their families use remittances on "dwelling-related" expenses.
"What we've noticed is women, either the OFW or the spouse left behind, decide on which housing type-high-rise or medium-rise-they would buy," Pineda said.
Dolmar is selling two-bedroom, two-level units at the same price as a 36-square meter high-rise condo unit. Pineda said these Dolmar units are up to 70-square meters each.
"Women entertainers from Japan would be swift in their decision to relocate their families in a medium-rise condo unit," Pineda said, citing their experience. He, however, declined how many OFWs or women entertainers from Japan have bought units in their Golden Heights project that is still under construction and targeted to be finished in March this year.
Among OFWs who work in Saudi Arabia , for example, they ask their wives and secure approval for the house purchase, Pineda said.
Half of the inquiries they get, he said, are via the company's web site and come from OFWs still working abroad. Most of these inquiries, he said, come from professionals, seafarers and Filipinos working in the medical industry of another country.
Thirty percent of the inquiries are for Dolmar's horizontal properties, especially those in Bulacan.
Pineda said the company prefers OFWs to sign a special power of attorney to delegate transactions to their Philippine-based family members. The SPA appoints the spouse or any relative to act as attorney-in-fact and reserve, pay or sign on the OFW's behalf.
Even as the best option is for OFWs to personally process and sign the papers, the SPA nevertheless helps avoid legal questions in the future, Pineda said.
According to the company's web site, Dolmar was established in 1971 as a privately held corporation engaged in leasing office spaces.
"During the 1970s to 1980s, the company constructed a number of its own buildings in the cities of Makati , Manila and Mandaluyong for office or commercial leasing," it said.
Golden Heights is Dolmar's first venture in midcost, midrise condominiums. The first 86 units of this urban-based project will be ready for occupancy by 2006 after construction began in 2004.
Dolmar Real Estate Development Corp., the Property Ventures's parent company, is one of top 100 stockholders of Tanduay Holdings Inc. (number 70 with 10,133 shares) and First Philippine Holdings Corp. (number 45 with 158,839 shares) as of December 31.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
If you can't help 'em, please don't burn 'em
Business Mirror
January 13, 2006
EDITORIAL
If you can't help 'em, please don't burn 'em
THE advice for overseas Filipino workers to invest some of their earnings in shares of stock of companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange lacks many things, if not everything.
It might have been easy for someone from the Executive branch to call on OFWs to save and boost the trades of the stock market with their hard-earned dollars. But the adviser failed them in not telling them about the intricacies of stock investing and the risks that go with it.
In the first place, it pains our OFWs to leave their families behind to be able to provide them with the most basic things in life, such as food, shelter and clothing. The three necessities may not come in that order, considering that the dream of Filipino parents to send their children to school until they obtain a college degree remains the best legacy that poor parents can arm their children with for future battles in life.
The question now is who among our so-called modern heroes, praised as the messiahs of the country's economy, can afford to forgo education, food, shelter, clothing and set aside part of the family income, derived mostly by the parents from working in other countries, for stock investing?
One puts money in stocks for a certain length of time-six months may be the shortest for the more conservative investors like stockbroker Irving Ackerman. Can an OFW last that long with his money tied up in stocks until the payment for the next tuition comes along? Or the next meal? Or the next apartment rent that comes every month? Or the next contractor's demand for the budget for the house that is being built or for the next amortization for the house bought on installment?
An OFW may not easily find the answers because he may not know anything at all about stock investing. Who is now going to educate him on how one scores gains and losses in the market, giving each subject equal emphasis but perhaps more on the latter? It is important to note, too, that what is probably one of the most important pieces of advice for investing that an OFW should be educated on is when to sell-for greed knows no boundary.
OFWs should take a look at a concrete illustration of investments gone sour. Who will forget that even the Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System failed to protect their members' money when their officials-and their think-tank group -invested heavily in the shares of Belle Corp.?
Here is the computation of how the two funds lost their members' contribution. This is not necessarily intended to scare them and make them ignore the suggestion of Neda's Dennis Arroyo (as reported on in one paper) for them to save their money in stocks but, more important, to warn them that even the most erudite investment advisers could go wrong. Whether or not the two funds' investments are influenced by some other political consideration is beside the point. Simply put, the billions poured into Belle shares by SSS and the paper losses until today should serve a good lesson on how not to invest in stocks.
On October 21, 1999, GSIS and SSS paid P1.399 billion for 447.650 million shares of Belle Corp. at prices ranging from P3.10 to P3.20. The two funds, which have for their members employees of government agencies and private companies, respectively, have been stuck with Belle shares since, as the market kept falling. Two years after, Belle's share price dropped to P0.40. As a result of the big decline, SSS and GSIS lost a whopping P1,219,940,000!
Who among our OFWs, who may all be SSS members, could shoulder a loss of P2.80 for every share? Every thinking investment strategist at SSS and GSIS must have suffered so many sleepless nights during the years that Belle has been on the slump. Luckily, Belle is slowly inching up. It is now trading above P1 per share, a price still way below the acquisition price.
Granting that our OFWs are well-informed and learned enough to understand the intricacies of stock investing, the next thing that should worry them is who will protect them from price manipulators? How certain are they and the rest of the public investors that the scandal that rocked the market many years ago involving BW Resources Corp. won't happen again?
Any recurrence of a similar price manipulation that saw BWRC's share price top P100 from a few centavos would certainly send OFWs with investments in stocks either packing their belongings to return to see what went wrong with their money.
The President and her circle of advisers have been so obsessed lately with the OFWs' income that they tend to cling to it for everything and anything the economy needs. That is why they are invariably cited as a factor in most developments. And yet, ironically, no one in government takes the trouble to seriously provide OFWs and their families a forum or a means to put whatever savings they have into long-term, productive investments.
It then goes without saying that if we can't even provide them a means for multiplying the economic impact of their money-other than praise them to high heavens for providing the dollars with which to pay the national debt-the very least the government can do is not to jeopardize whatever funds they have set aside by giving haphazard advice that could burn them.
Sure, recent and ongoing reforms in the Exchange should inspire confidence in the public; but OFWs must be told that the stock market is not the only venue for investments. If the government really wants to help OFWs grow their savings, it should at least inform them of some other safe havens for their money, such as small Treasury bills, which are much safer than stocks for they are guaranteed by the national government.
January 13, 2006
EDITORIAL
If you can't help 'em, please don't burn 'em
THE advice for overseas Filipino workers to invest some of their earnings in shares of stock of companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange lacks many things, if not everything.
It might have been easy for someone from the Executive branch to call on OFWs to save and boost the trades of the stock market with their hard-earned dollars. But the adviser failed them in not telling them about the intricacies of stock investing and the risks that go with it.
In the first place, it pains our OFWs to leave their families behind to be able to provide them with the most basic things in life, such as food, shelter and clothing. The three necessities may not come in that order, considering that the dream of Filipino parents to send their children to school until they obtain a college degree remains the best legacy that poor parents can arm their children with for future battles in life.
The question now is who among our so-called modern heroes, praised as the messiahs of the country's economy, can afford to forgo education, food, shelter, clothing and set aside part of the family income, derived mostly by the parents from working in other countries, for stock investing?
One puts money in stocks for a certain length of time-six months may be the shortest for the more conservative investors like stockbroker Irving Ackerman. Can an OFW last that long with his money tied up in stocks until the payment for the next tuition comes along? Or the next meal? Or the next apartment rent that comes every month? Or the next contractor's demand for the budget for the house that is being built or for the next amortization for the house bought on installment?
An OFW may not easily find the answers because he may not know anything at all about stock investing. Who is now going to educate him on how one scores gains and losses in the market, giving each subject equal emphasis but perhaps more on the latter? It is important to note, too, that what is probably one of the most important pieces of advice for investing that an OFW should be educated on is when to sell-for greed knows no boundary.
OFWs should take a look at a concrete illustration of investments gone sour. Who will forget that even the Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System failed to protect their members' money when their officials-and their think-tank group -invested heavily in the shares of Belle Corp.?
Here is the computation of how the two funds lost their members' contribution. This is not necessarily intended to scare them and make them ignore the suggestion of Neda's Dennis Arroyo (as reported on in one paper) for them to save their money in stocks but, more important, to warn them that even the most erudite investment advisers could go wrong. Whether or not the two funds' investments are influenced by some other political consideration is beside the point. Simply put, the billions poured into Belle shares by SSS and the paper losses until today should serve a good lesson on how not to invest in stocks.
On October 21, 1999, GSIS and SSS paid P1.399 billion for 447.650 million shares of Belle Corp. at prices ranging from P3.10 to P3.20. The two funds, which have for their members employees of government agencies and private companies, respectively, have been stuck with Belle shares since, as the market kept falling. Two years after, Belle's share price dropped to P0.40. As a result of the big decline, SSS and GSIS lost a whopping P1,219,940,000!
Who among our OFWs, who may all be SSS members, could shoulder a loss of P2.80 for every share? Every thinking investment strategist at SSS and GSIS must have suffered so many sleepless nights during the years that Belle has been on the slump. Luckily, Belle is slowly inching up. It is now trading above P1 per share, a price still way below the acquisition price.
Granting that our OFWs are well-informed and learned enough to understand the intricacies of stock investing, the next thing that should worry them is who will protect them from price manipulators? How certain are they and the rest of the public investors that the scandal that rocked the market many years ago involving BW Resources Corp. won't happen again?
Any recurrence of a similar price manipulation that saw BWRC's share price top P100 from a few centavos would certainly send OFWs with investments in stocks either packing their belongings to return to see what went wrong with their money.
The President and her circle of advisers have been so obsessed lately with the OFWs' income that they tend to cling to it for everything and anything the economy needs. That is why they are invariably cited as a factor in most developments. And yet, ironically, no one in government takes the trouble to seriously provide OFWs and their families a forum or a means to put whatever savings they have into long-term, productive investments.
It then goes without saying that if we can't even provide them a means for multiplying the economic impact of their money-other than praise them to high heavens for providing the dollars with which to pay the national debt-the very least the government can do is not to jeopardize whatever funds they have set aside by giving haphazard advice that could burn them.
Sure, recent and ongoing reforms in the Exchange should inspire confidence in the public; but OFWs must be told that the stock market is not the only venue for investments. If the government really wants to help OFWs grow their savings, it should at least inform them of some other safe havens for their money, such as small Treasury bills, which are much safer than stocks for they are guaranteed by the national government.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
BSP, not BAP, acts on high OFW fees
By Jun Vallecera
Reporter
Business Mirror
January 23, 2006
IN THE face of relatively small amounts of remittances to the Philippines and doubts about the figures advanced by a lawmaker on the fees charged by foreign banks, the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) rejected calls for it to make some kind of representation with foreign counterparts to try to reduce supposedly excessive fees on remittances service.
NP Rep. Eduardo R. Gullas of Cebu had proposed a private sector or government effort to reduce what he believes is the high cost of remitting the earnings of Filipinos to their families here.
But even as the BAP thumbed down Gullas's call, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the issue is under close scrutiny and it will soon announce its findings and recommendations.
BAP executive director Leonilo Koronel said the so-called excessive remittance fees is not something within the control of Philippine banks. He also doubted the accuracy of the figure of $1.6 billion in total fees advanced by Gullas as collected by banks abroad from Filipino workers this year.
In any case, Koronel said for the BAP or for even the BSP to petition Western banks to reduce the fees was totally out of the question. "We're rather small and our OFW remittances, though a big boost to the economy, is a mere drop in the bucket from the world perspective."
Koronel said if he were an OFW seeking to reduce the cost of remitting hard-earned dollars back to his family, he would save the money and remit it in one big lump sum rather than in small amounts, in order to maximize use of the average $20 remittance fee levied on each transaction.
"I would do that because banks really do not have control on how much fees the conduit banks would charge on each transaction," he added.
BSP governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said their research arm is evaluating the remittance process to try to find out what regulators could do to reduce remittance costs reportedly costing millions of OFWs some P85 billion in bank charges alone.
Tetangco said remittance costs typically depend on the kind of service an OFW wants from banks or from money transfer outlets. "Charges normally depend on the level of service required by the client. We are looking at factors behind the fees and there have been reductions in certain areas. Further reductions may still be possible."
He said what the workers could hope for from the current situation was for competition among banks to heighten further, so that costs to the hapless OFW would come down by a significant degree. "Costs could come down, particularly with greater competition in the business."
Reporter
Business Mirror
January 23, 2006
IN THE face of relatively small amounts of remittances to the Philippines and doubts about the figures advanced by a lawmaker on the fees charged by foreign banks, the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) rejected calls for it to make some kind of representation with foreign counterparts to try to reduce supposedly excessive fees on remittances service.
NP Rep. Eduardo R. Gullas of Cebu had proposed a private sector or government effort to reduce what he believes is the high cost of remitting the earnings of Filipinos to their families here.
But even as the BAP thumbed down Gullas's call, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the issue is under close scrutiny and it will soon announce its findings and recommendations.
BAP executive director Leonilo Koronel said the so-called excessive remittance fees is not something within the control of Philippine banks. He also doubted the accuracy of the figure of $1.6 billion in total fees advanced by Gullas as collected by banks abroad from Filipino workers this year.
In any case, Koronel said for the BAP or for even the BSP to petition Western banks to reduce the fees was totally out of the question. "We're rather small and our OFW remittances, though a big boost to the economy, is a mere drop in the bucket from the world perspective."
Koronel said if he were an OFW seeking to reduce the cost of remitting hard-earned dollars back to his family, he would save the money and remit it in one big lump sum rather than in small amounts, in order to maximize use of the average $20 remittance fee levied on each transaction.
"I would do that because banks really do not have control on how much fees the conduit banks would charge on each transaction," he added.
BSP governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said their research arm is evaluating the remittance process to try to find out what regulators could do to reduce remittance costs reportedly costing millions of OFWs some P85 billion in bank charges alone.
Tetangco said remittance costs typically depend on the kind of service an OFW wants from banks or from money transfer outlets. "Charges normally depend on the level of service required by the client. We are looking at factors behind the fees and there have been reductions in certain areas. Further reductions may still be possible."
He said what the workers could hope for from the current situation was for competition among banks to heighten further, so that costs to the hapless OFW would come down by a significant degree. "Costs could come down, particularly with greater competition in the business."
Monday, January 23, 2006
Manage our OFW business better
Manage our OFW business better
DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco
The Philippine Star 01/23/2006
When the Marcos regime first resorted to the export of Filipino labor to alleviate the unemployment problem and also earn precious foreign exchange, it was supposed to be a stop gap measure. It was something we had to do while the country worked on the basics for economic growth… until our economy can provide jobs right here at home.
But it didn’t happen that way. The spectacular performance of our OFWs this year in terms of earnings remittance and the absence of real indicators that our economy is truly on the mend, means this temporary strategy will have to be around for quite a while more.
Putting aside the serious social implications of children growing up without parents or of a culture of dependency taking root among relatives left behind, the OFW strategy has at least provided the element of hope needed to keep the masses from revolting. It is also creating a new middle class that is exposed to world class ways of doing things and I am banking on this development to improve the quality of our voters in the future.
I saw a special report on ANC last week that featured pretty good looking homes of OFWs in Mabini, Batangas. The village itself is known as Italian village because the OFWs there worked as household help in Italy. It is heartwarming to see such fruits of their hard work. Those houses and the much improved lives they now live must surely make all those bitter heartaches in a foreign land worthwhile.
Now that we are resigned to sending our workers abroad in the next 10 or maybe even 20 years, we should start handling this business a lot better than we are doing now. I am not talking only of worker protection and welfare like what OWWA, POEA and DFA should be providing. I think various high level government agency heads, together with some in the private sector, should give the OFW strategy more thought to maximize the benefits we as a country can derive from it.
We often hear some official or economist lament that the billions of dollars OFWs send back home are dissipated in consumption, benefiting only the mall owners and the smugglers in Divisoria. There is a lot of truth in that view. The $10 billion or so that OFWs sent back here last year could have done more than just strengthen the peso and fatten our gross international reserves.
That’s a lot of money, to begin with. Couldn’t we capture that or some of that in terms of government securities tailor made for OFWs? Every time the National Treasury floats a bond issue, that is to say, borrow foreign exchange from banks and other investors, it is normally in a range that’s lower than $10 billion. The last one was just $2 billion. Wouldn’t it be nice if the Treasury paid interest to an OFW holding such a bond instead of to foreign banks or investors?
There was an attempt by some wise guys in Malacañang some years back to issue such an "investment instrument" that did not clearly define its use. In fact, they did not coordinate with DOF or BSP, making the caper look like a scam. But if the issue is designed by the proper financial authorities and would be used to reduce our foreign debt obligations or to build an expressway somewhere or equip PGH with world class facilities, that would be just great.
Right now, the investment choices of OFWs are limited to buying a tricycle, a jeep or a FX van… or putting up a sari sari store. Assisting the OFWs in investing their hard-earned money should be a joint government-private sector undertaking.
While I wouldn’t recommend for the uninitiated OFW to venture into the stock market the way the NEDA chief suggested, the PSE can probably come up with an index fund, a mutual fund type of instrument that tracks the Phisix. While there is still a strong element of risk here, it wouldn’t be as bad as losing all your money on one bad listed issue. It should also be more liquid. Something like the Vanguard in the US should be a good model.
Deploying our OFWs can also stand a lot of improvement. Our consul general in Guangdong province, China once told our Wednesday lunch group at Havana Greenbelt that China seems more organized in this respect. She told us that at least in Guangdong, the Chinese government negotiated directly with the British government for the supply of Chinese nurses. The package deal involves everything from English language training to professional certification and guaranteed wages. When governments talk to each other, the likelihood of abuses is reduced, if not eliminated.
This is why I think DFA should be at the forefront of efforts to negotiate and sign up treaties with various countries that would facilitate the fielding of Filipino labor. Mobility of labor is an important component of globalization and we ought to be as tough in negotiating this issue as we are in regard to the entry of manufactured goods and raw materials to developed country markets. It is a tough issue but it is also one issue we need to be proactive with. Otherwise, other countries that also send their workers abroad may get their labor agreements ahead of us.
Then there is the problem raised by the POEA of inadequate available flights out of the country to ferry our workers. Thousands of prospective workers, whose papers are already in order, lost the opportunity to work and earn money abroad because there are not enough planes to get them there. That’s a logistic problem that shouldn’t be too difficult to fix. We just need the Civil Aeronautics Board to work with POEA. The lost opportunity is an unpardonable failure of the bureaucracy.
Finally, there is the police side of it too. There was news last week that about 20 or so Pinoy "tourists" were stranded in St. Petersburg, Russia after their "guide", a Filipina, abandoned them after taking their passports and money. Apparently, the "tourists" were really bound for Western Europe to look for work and the "guide" was supposed to facilitate their Schengen visa for an atrocious fee.
Winter is a tough time to be stranded in Russia without food and shelter. And CNN says it is record cold there now. There must be some way government can monitor situations like this before these "tourists" even leave the country. Given our economic problems, people are desperate enough to take big risks for that dream job abroad. We simply have to protect our own from the more criminally inclined, also among us.
It would be nice to see more Italian Villages like the one in Mabini, Batangas. But replicating the success stories there must not be left to chance and to the desperation of our people to take unreasonable risks. We all have to put our heads together in an organized effort to maximize the benefits of this OFW phenomenon and minimize the heartaches to those who are in the thick of it.
Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com
DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco
The Philippine Star 01/23/2006
When the Marcos regime first resorted to the export of Filipino labor to alleviate the unemployment problem and also earn precious foreign exchange, it was supposed to be a stop gap measure. It was something we had to do while the country worked on the basics for economic growth… until our economy can provide jobs right here at home.
But it didn’t happen that way. The spectacular performance of our OFWs this year in terms of earnings remittance and the absence of real indicators that our economy is truly on the mend, means this temporary strategy will have to be around for quite a while more.
Putting aside the serious social implications of children growing up without parents or of a culture of dependency taking root among relatives left behind, the OFW strategy has at least provided the element of hope needed to keep the masses from revolting. It is also creating a new middle class that is exposed to world class ways of doing things and I am banking on this development to improve the quality of our voters in the future.
I saw a special report on ANC last week that featured pretty good looking homes of OFWs in Mabini, Batangas. The village itself is known as Italian village because the OFWs there worked as household help in Italy. It is heartwarming to see such fruits of their hard work. Those houses and the much improved lives they now live must surely make all those bitter heartaches in a foreign land worthwhile.
Now that we are resigned to sending our workers abroad in the next 10 or maybe even 20 years, we should start handling this business a lot better than we are doing now. I am not talking only of worker protection and welfare like what OWWA, POEA and DFA should be providing. I think various high level government agency heads, together with some in the private sector, should give the OFW strategy more thought to maximize the benefits we as a country can derive from it.
We often hear some official or economist lament that the billions of dollars OFWs send back home are dissipated in consumption, benefiting only the mall owners and the smugglers in Divisoria. There is a lot of truth in that view. The $10 billion or so that OFWs sent back here last year could have done more than just strengthen the peso and fatten our gross international reserves.
That’s a lot of money, to begin with. Couldn’t we capture that or some of that in terms of government securities tailor made for OFWs? Every time the National Treasury floats a bond issue, that is to say, borrow foreign exchange from banks and other investors, it is normally in a range that’s lower than $10 billion. The last one was just $2 billion. Wouldn’t it be nice if the Treasury paid interest to an OFW holding such a bond instead of to foreign banks or investors?
There was an attempt by some wise guys in Malacañang some years back to issue such an "investment instrument" that did not clearly define its use. In fact, they did not coordinate with DOF or BSP, making the caper look like a scam. But if the issue is designed by the proper financial authorities and would be used to reduce our foreign debt obligations or to build an expressway somewhere or equip PGH with world class facilities, that would be just great.
Right now, the investment choices of OFWs are limited to buying a tricycle, a jeep or a FX van… or putting up a sari sari store. Assisting the OFWs in investing their hard-earned money should be a joint government-private sector undertaking.
While I wouldn’t recommend for the uninitiated OFW to venture into the stock market the way the NEDA chief suggested, the PSE can probably come up with an index fund, a mutual fund type of instrument that tracks the Phisix. While there is still a strong element of risk here, it wouldn’t be as bad as losing all your money on one bad listed issue. It should also be more liquid. Something like the Vanguard in the US should be a good model.
Deploying our OFWs can also stand a lot of improvement. Our consul general in Guangdong province, China once told our Wednesday lunch group at Havana Greenbelt that China seems more organized in this respect. She told us that at least in Guangdong, the Chinese government negotiated directly with the British government for the supply of Chinese nurses. The package deal involves everything from English language training to professional certification and guaranteed wages. When governments talk to each other, the likelihood of abuses is reduced, if not eliminated.
This is why I think DFA should be at the forefront of efforts to negotiate and sign up treaties with various countries that would facilitate the fielding of Filipino labor. Mobility of labor is an important component of globalization and we ought to be as tough in negotiating this issue as we are in regard to the entry of manufactured goods and raw materials to developed country markets. It is a tough issue but it is also one issue we need to be proactive with. Otherwise, other countries that also send their workers abroad may get their labor agreements ahead of us.
Then there is the problem raised by the POEA of inadequate available flights out of the country to ferry our workers. Thousands of prospective workers, whose papers are already in order, lost the opportunity to work and earn money abroad because there are not enough planes to get them there. That’s a logistic problem that shouldn’t be too difficult to fix. We just need the Civil Aeronautics Board to work with POEA. The lost opportunity is an unpardonable failure of the bureaucracy.
Finally, there is the police side of it too. There was news last week that about 20 or so Pinoy "tourists" were stranded in St. Petersburg, Russia after their "guide", a Filipina, abandoned them after taking their passports and money. Apparently, the "tourists" were really bound for Western Europe to look for work and the "guide" was supposed to facilitate their Schengen visa for an atrocious fee.
Winter is a tough time to be stranded in Russia without food and shelter. And CNN says it is record cold there now. There must be some way government can monitor situations like this before these "tourists" even leave the country. Given our economic problems, people are desperate enough to take big risks for that dream job abroad. We simply have to protect our own from the more criminally inclined, also among us.
It would be nice to see more Italian Villages like the one in Mabini, Batangas. But replicating the success stories there must not be left to chance and to the desperation of our people to take unreasonable risks. We all have to put our heads together in an organized effort to maximize the benefits of this OFW phenomenon and minimize the heartaches to those who are in the thick of it.
Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com
OFW families benefit from online shopping mall
i.t. matters
Monday, January 23, 2006 MANILA, PHILIPPINES
OFW families benefit from online shopping mall
In time for last year’s noche buena, one United States-based Filipino, via a few clicks on his computer, gifted his family back in the Philippines with a food package worth P28,000.
In the list were traditional must-haves: lechon, pansit, kare-kare and cake, said officials from myAyala. com, which processed the transaction. myAyala, the Ayala Group’s online shopping mall, described the transaction as its biggest single transaction ever in its five-year history.
Since the time it was formed in 2000, myAyala’s business model has not changed, said Manny Rodriguez, operations team leader. About 95% of its total market, valued at a "little less than P100 million" last year, are overseas Filipinos, that is Filipinos working and residing in North America, Canada, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.
Making up for their absence, and mindful of special occasions back home, these overseas Filipino workers buy items and transact online not for themselves but for their families in the Philippines, myAyala customer service coordinator Niña Jaspe said.
Food items such as cakes and Filipino favorites like lechon and pansit rank first in terms of the most popular. This accounts for almost half of myAyala’s total annual revenues, which grew to about P100 million last year from P50 million in 2004.
On the average, online food orders range anywhere between P3,000 for a small family event to P10,000 for parties. Transactions usually peak in December, in time for the Christmas celebration. In December, myAyala closed the month with P12 million in total revenues.
Second in the list are flowers, which now account for about 20% of the company’s total sales.
Prodded by increasing demand, myAyala has set up myflowershop.com, a virtual flower and semi-gift shop, sourcing flowers directly from farms, including getting down to the nitty-gritty of flower arrangement.
The whole business is being handled by a five-man team and the workshop is located within the myAyala corporate office in Makati City, occupying less than four square meters of floor space.
The company gets P800,000 worth of orders during lean months and higher during the months of December, May and February. Sales in May and February are driven by the Mother’s Day and Valentines celebrations.
And as of this writing, there were already 10 advance orders for February 14.
"Majority are still Filipinos overseas, for their parents and loved ones, but there are also foreigner clients, those who have partners living here or those who are into online dating," Ms. Jaspe said.
But there are also domestic orders, mostly from Metro Manila. Customers are usually working individuals with credit cards who are in their late 20s to mid-30s.
"Especially during Valentines, you have this guy working in Makati City who wants to surprise his girlfriend who is also working in Makati City," Mr. Rodriquez said.
Retail orders start at P800 for a package of three roses. Orders for corporate requirements and weddings usually start at P18,000/package.
In and outside the Philippines, most of myAyala’s clients shop at their office, providing e-mail and office addresses.
Aside from food and flowers, Filipinos based abroad also pay for Meralco, PLDT and Manila Water bills for families here.
"Give your share during difficult times even when you’re oceans away," the Website states.
OFWs can also send monthly remittances to families, gift certificates, and pre-paid cards for mobile phones so that family members back home can call.
Interestingly, Mr. Rodriguez said online transactions for pre-paid cards and remittances usually drop in December but jump in April and May for school enrolment.
Despite the assurance of secure transactions, he said the local market in general remains wary of transacting online.
"They are hesitant to give credit card information because they are afraid of identity theft and fraudulent transaction. And most of them prefer going to the mall," Mr. Rodriguez said.
For Filipinos abroad, however, sites like myAyala are a much-appreciated convenience. -- Maricel E. Estavillo
Monday, January 23, 2006 MANILA, PHILIPPINES
OFW families benefit from online shopping mall
In time for last year’s noche buena, one United States-based Filipino, via a few clicks on his computer, gifted his family back in the Philippines with a food package worth P28,000.
In the list were traditional must-haves: lechon, pansit, kare-kare and cake, said officials from myAyala. com, which processed the transaction. myAyala, the Ayala Group’s online shopping mall, described the transaction as its biggest single transaction ever in its five-year history.
Since the time it was formed in 2000, myAyala’s business model has not changed, said Manny Rodriguez, operations team leader. About 95% of its total market, valued at a "little less than P100 million" last year, are overseas Filipinos, that is Filipinos working and residing in North America, Canada, Europe, Australia and the Middle East.
Making up for their absence, and mindful of special occasions back home, these overseas Filipino workers buy items and transact online not for themselves but for their families in the Philippines, myAyala customer service coordinator Niña Jaspe said.
Food items such as cakes and Filipino favorites like lechon and pansit rank first in terms of the most popular. This accounts for almost half of myAyala’s total annual revenues, which grew to about P100 million last year from P50 million in 2004.
On the average, online food orders range anywhere between P3,000 for a small family event to P10,000 for parties. Transactions usually peak in December, in time for the Christmas celebration. In December, myAyala closed the month with P12 million in total revenues.
Second in the list are flowers, which now account for about 20% of the company’s total sales.
Prodded by increasing demand, myAyala has set up myflowershop.com, a virtual flower and semi-gift shop, sourcing flowers directly from farms, including getting down to the nitty-gritty of flower arrangement.
The whole business is being handled by a five-man team and the workshop is located within the myAyala corporate office in Makati City, occupying less than four square meters of floor space.
The company gets P800,000 worth of orders during lean months and higher during the months of December, May and February. Sales in May and February are driven by the Mother’s Day and Valentines celebrations.
And as of this writing, there were already 10 advance orders for February 14.
"Majority are still Filipinos overseas, for their parents and loved ones, but there are also foreigner clients, those who have partners living here or those who are into online dating," Ms. Jaspe said.
But there are also domestic orders, mostly from Metro Manila. Customers are usually working individuals with credit cards who are in their late 20s to mid-30s.
"Especially during Valentines, you have this guy working in Makati City who wants to surprise his girlfriend who is also working in Makati City," Mr. Rodriquez said.
Retail orders start at P800 for a package of three roses. Orders for corporate requirements and weddings usually start at P18,000/package.
In and outside the Philippines, most of myAyala’s clients shop at their office, providing e-mail and office addresses.
Aside from food and flowers, Filipinos based abroad also pay for Meralco, PLDT and Manila Water bills for families here.
"Give your share during difficult times even when you’re oceans away," the Website states.
OFWs can also send monthly remittances to families, gift certificates, and pre-paid cards for mobile phones so that family members back home can call.
Interestingly, Mr. Rodriguez said online transactions for pre-paid cards and remittances usually drop in December but jump in April and May for school enrolment.
Despite the assurance of secure transactions, he said the local market in general remains wary of transacting online.
"They are hesitant to give credit card information because they are afraid of identity theft and fraudulent transaction. And most of them prefer going to the mall," Mr. Rodriguez said.
For Filipinos abroad, however, sites like myAyala are a much-appreciated convenience. -- Maricel E. Estavillo
Friday, January 20, 2006
Balikbayani findings: OFW-managed enterprises tend to fail
Press Release
Balikbayani findings
OFW-managed enterprises tend to fail
Villy Cabuag
OFW Journalism Consortium
For more than a decade, Ricardo Munoz received letters with enclosed pictures and cash every Christmas from his wife who was working in Beirut, Lebanon.
His wife, who had worked her way up to hotel supervisor of a five-star hotel, virtually supported the family as Ricardo had no permanent employment. Although he managed their half-hectare farm in Bicol, he could hardly support the daily needs of their two children.
When she reached her prime, Ricardo's wife had little choice but to return home. Armed with a plan to establish a good enterprise of their own with a reasonable amount of money, the couple invested their savings in real estate and established a sari-sari store in the community.
But when the Asian financial crisis struck the Philippines in mid-1998, the realty sector was heavily affected and most firms postponed their expansion plans. The problem left the Munoz family wondering about their next move since the sari-sari store was also in danger of closing due to financial problems.
The Munoz family is just one of many families of overseas Filipino workers who realized the dream of their migrant worker returning to hearth and home, except that this family's story has a sad ending since they have to start all over again. Their migrant worker, Ricardo's wife, will most probably have to go abroad again.
70 per cent fail
According to a heretofore unpublished research of a non-government organization, 70 percent of the enterprises established by former migrant workers go bankrupt due to lack of planning and management skills.
In a paper to be presented at a conference in April, Balikabayani Foundation, Inc., says that while business possibilities for some seven million OFWs are endless, capacity-building for aspiring OFW entrepreneurs are rarely addressed, causing their enterprises to collapse in the end.
"If they really want to have a business, they should first learn how to manage an enterprise while they are working abroad. You cannot learn it overnight. But the problem is when they return home with so much capital, they have to decide at a shortest possible time or else it will be spent
on some other things," said Balikabayani executive director Mai Anonuevo.
In her paper, "Social Cost of Migration and Possibilities for Reintegration," Anonuevo presents the findings in the NGO's yearlong research funded by the Canadian International Development Fund. Her paper will be presented at a conference on the same topic co-sponsored by the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration on April 12-13 in Manila.
Interviewed during a break from her studies on Social Enterprise Development at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati, Anonuevo said the conference affirms the potential of OFWs as investors and not only as sources of remittances that go mostly to the purchase of consumer items.
Changing values and attitudes
The task is not simply teaching returning OFWs how to save or be prudent with spending their hard-earned money but to change the values and attitudes of the migrants, Anunuevo said. This is why there should be more social entrepreneurs to help them work out the complications of having a business.
"Of course there is no such as a sure shot thing. Business will always be business but if you can lessen the (probability) of failure by studying the investment procedures, then it can be a great factor," she said.
Among the factors contributing to the success of the 30 percent of OFW families whose businesses have succeeded are: a relative who knows capital management and the fact that other family members are not solely depend on the earnings of the migrant worker. Value formation of both the OFW and family, which can take time, also matters.
As part of its service to OFWs, Balikbayani is training migrant workers in Hong Kong to become social entrepreneurs. It operates a multi-service center which offers various services such as video conferencing, remittance service, order-regalo (gift), among others, for Filipino migrant workers. In the long run, says Anonuevo, the center will be turned over to migrants to manage and own and who will be expected to train other Filipino workers to replace them, if they decide to go home.
Currently, there are still no success stories to tell since Balikabayani is still studying what type of investment scheme would be best for returning migrant workers. It is also planning to offer its services in other places which have heavy concentrations of OFWs.- OFW Journalism Consortium
Balikbayani findings
OFW-managed enterprises tend to fail
Villy Cabuag
OFW Journalism Consortium
For more than a decade, Ricardo Munoz received letters with enclosed pictures and cash every Christmas from his wife who was working in Beirut, Lebanon.
His wife, who had worked her way up to hotel supervisor of a five-star hotel, virtually supported the family as Ricardo had no permanent employment. Although he managed their half-hectare farm in Bicol, he could hardly support the daily needs of their two children.
When she reached her prime, Ricardo's wife had little choice but to return home. Armed with a plan to establish a good enterprise of their own with a reasonable amount of money, the couple invested their savings in real estate and established a sari-sari store in the community.
But when the Asian financial crisis struck the Philippines in mid-1998, the realty sector was heavily affected and most firms postponed their expansion plans. The problem left the Munoz family wondering about their next move since the sari-sari store was also in danger of closing due to financial problems.
The Munoz family is just one of many families of overseas Filipino workers who realized the dream of their migrant worker returning to hearth and home, except that this family's story has a sad ending since they have to start all over again. Their migrant worker, Ricardo's wife, will most probably have to go abroad again.
70 per cent fail
According to a heretofore unpublished research of a non-government organization, 70 percent of the enterprises established by former migrant workers go bankrupt due to lack of planning and management skills.
In a paper to be presented at a conference in April, Balikabayani Foundation, Inc., says that while business possibilities for some seven million OFWs are endless, capacity-building for aspiring OFW entrepreneurs are rarely addressed, causing their enterprises to collapse in the end.
"If they really want to have a business, they should first learn how to manage an enterprise while they are working abroad. You cannot learn it overnight. But the problem is when they return home with so much capital, they have to decide at a shortest possible time or else it will be spent
on some other things," said Balikabayani executive director Mai Anonuevo.
In her paper, "Social Cost of Migration and Possibilities for Reintegration," Anonuevo presents the findings in the NGO's yearlong research funded by the Canadian International Development Fund. Her paper will be presented at a conference on the same topic co-sponsored by the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration on April 12-13 in Manila.
Interviewed during a break from her studies on Social Enterprise Development at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati, Anonuevo said the conference affirms the potential of OFWs as investors and not only as sources of remittances that go mostly to the purchase of consumer items.
Changing values and attitudes
The task is not simply teaching returning OFWs how to save or be prudent with spending their hard-earned money but to change the values and attitudes of the migrants, Anunuevo said. This is why there should be more social entrepreneurs to help them work out the complications of having a business.
"Of course there is no such as a sure shot thing. Business will always be business but if you can lessen the (probability) of failure by studying the investment procedures, then it can be a great factor," she said.
Among the factors contributing to the success of the 30 percent of OFW families whose businesses have succeeded are: a relative who knows capital management and the fact that other family members are not solely depend on the earnings of the migrant worker. Value formation of both the OFW and family, which can take time, also matters.
As part of its service to OFWs, Balikbayani is training migrant workers in Hong Kong to become social entrepreneurs. It operates a multi-service center which offers various services such as video conferencing, remittance service, order-regalo (gift), among others, for Filipino migrant workers. In the long run, says Anonuevo, the center will be turned over to migrants to manage and own and who will be expected to train other Filipino workers to replace them, if they decide to go home.
Currently, there are still no success stories to tell since Balikabayani is still studying what type of investment scheme would be best for returning migrant workers. It is also planning to offer its services in other places which have heavy concentrations of OFWs.- OFW Journalism Consortium
Dollar remittances and social paralysis
Business Mirror
January 17, 2006
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/2006/0117/17%20oped%20editorial.php
EDITORIAL
Dollar remittances and social paralysis
LAST Friday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) happily announced that remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) coursed through commercial banks from January to November last year reached US$9.7 billion, a 26-percent rise from last year's US$7.7-billion inflows. The BSP attributed this double-digit growth in dollar remittances to two factors: the rising demand for Filipino workers abroad, particularly of skilled ones including nurses, doctors, teachers, engineers; and the continuing efforts by banks to capture these remittances through the formal financial channels.
"Remittances. coursed through commercial banks remained robust," the BSP said, stressing that the total amount of dollars sent home by Filipino workers abroad in 2005 would reach almost US$11 billion.
Nice news, except that the BSP does not necessarily tell us the entire picture, particularly the social cost that the Philippine society is paying for those dollars. Majority of those who left the country's shores in search for a dollar pay are women, leaving in their wake families devoid of motherly care and guidance. In many cases, the husbands who are left to care for the entire family proved to be lousy parents, giving rise to drug use, high dropout rates in school and juvenile delinquency among the children.
The experience of Mabini, a small remittance-dependent town 92 kilometers south of Manila , as reported by Carlos Conde, the local correspondent of the International Herald Tribune, highlights this tragically high social cost. The report noted that once their wives started sending dollars from abroad, most of the husbands stopped working, thus creating a culture of dependency within their households.
The town is awash with cash from abroad but the money often ends up wasted on lavish parties, Manila shopping malls, binge drinking and conspicuous consumption. Unemployment in the community is high since people would rather wait for their chance to work abroad than do something productive locally. Many children are not able to finish college since a diploma is not necessary to land a domestic help's job in Italy .
What is alarming is that Mabini could, from all indications, prove to be a microcosm of Philippine society. In the last five years, the country's economy-propped up by the remittance dollar-has shown to be capable to growing within the 5 percent to 6 percent range. Malls are rising at every corner to capture those remittance dollars, yet the larger picture seems to reflect a continuously weak economy incapable of soaking up joblessness.
In fairness, dollar remittances have given a lot of purchasing power that is propping up a significant part of the country's manufacturing sector. Do you ever wonder why the average capacity utilization is at a four-year high of 81.4 percent? That's because people are buying a lot of goods and services, thus creating a lot of employment. Nevertheless, dollar remittances alone have proven to be inadequate to propel the economy beyond the low-level equilibrium that it is trapped in right now-while creating a lot of social problems.
The signs of low-level equilibrium, nay social paralysis, are clear. On one hand, survey after survey from both the Pulse Asia and the Social Weather Stations show the continuing poverty and hopelessness of many Filipinos, particularly in the lower social strata. On the other, we often hear some people in the middle and the richer classes saying that "the Philippine economy has been growing quite decently in the last few years despite the country's political problems."
And true enough, the property markets have been sizzling lately, an indication that the country's richer classes whose wealth are largely based on ownership and control of real-estate properties are starting to make a killing off those dollar remittances.
These contrasting perspectives appear to be producing some sort of social paralysis, a kind of social complacency that takes away the urgency of pursuing painful but crucial economic and political reforms. The remittance dollars seem to have become manna from heaven that has taken away our ambition to rise from the heap and join the rest of the Asia-Pacific community in the race for development and real progress.
The main point here is that overseas employment is not the real solution to this country's failure to achieve development. We acknowledge the importance of this sector-once upon a time it was truly necessary-but it can never be a substitute for internally generated growth. And this one could only be achieved if we have the courage to address corruption in government, remove all barriers to entrepreneurial activities, collect the taxes finance infrastructure development, and ensure transparency and predictability in the country's regulatory environment. And while doing this, we need to address with greater urgency the growing social problem engendered by the dollar remittance mentality in our midst.
Economist and former planning secretary Cielito Habito's story a few years ago should serve as a warning to all us. Habito's wife runs a school in Los Baños and noticed that the most problematic kids are those whose parents are working abroad. Many of these kids, he said, are underachievers, lack motivation for school work, lack focus and can't seem to get along well with other students. To put a face to this observation, one need only recall that a few months ago, the Laguna police arrested the three young sons of OFW icon Flor Contemplacion for drug dealing, right from their home.
Habito said the experience in the Los Baños school is alarming, considering that about 10 percent of Filipinos are working abroad. If that situation in Laguna reflects the national trend, then we have a social time bomb waiting to explode.
January 17, 2006
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/2006/0117/17%20oped%20editorial.php
EDITORIAL
Dollar remittances and social paralysis
LAST Friday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) happily announced that remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) coursed through commercial banks from January to November last year reached US$9.7 billion, a 26-percent rise from last year's US$7.7-billion inflows. The BSP attributed this double-digit growth in dollar remittances to two factors: the rising demand for Filipino workers abroad, particularly of skilled ones including nurses, doctors, teachers, engineers; and the continuing efforts by banks to capture these remittances through the formal financial channels.
"Remittances. coursed through commercial banks remained robust," the BSP said, stressing that the total amount of dollars sent home by Filipino workers abroad in 2005 would reach almost US$11 billion.
Nice news, except that the BSP does not necessarily tell us the entire picture, particularly the social cost that the Philippine society is paying for those dollars. Majority of those who left the country's shores in search for a dollar pay are women, leaving in their wake families devoid of motherly care and guidance. In many cases, the husbands who are left to care for the entire family proved to be lousy parents, giving rise to drug use, high dropout rates in school and juvenile delinquency among the children.
The experience of Mabini, a small remittance-dependent town 92 kilometers south of Manila , as reported by Carlos Conde, the local correspondent of the International Herald Tribune, highlights this tragically high social cost. The report noted that once their wives started sending dollars from abroad, most of the husbands stopped working, thus creating a culture of dependency within their households.
The town is awash with cash from abroad but the money often ends up wasted on lavish parties, Manila shopping malls, binge drinking and conspicuous consumption. Unemployment in the community is high since people would rather wait for their chance to work abroad than do something productive locally. Many children are not able to finish college since a diploma is not necessary to land a domestic help's job in Italy .
What is alarming is that Mabini could, from all indications, prove to be a microcosm of Philippine society. In the last five years, the country's economy-propped up by the remittance dollar-has shown to be capable to growing within the 5 percent to 6 percent range. Malls are rising at every corner to capture those remittance dollars, yet the larger picture seems to reflect a continuously weak economy incapable of soaking up joblessness.
In fairness, dollar remittances have given a lot of purchasing power that is propping up a significant part of the country's manufacturing sector. Do you ever wonder why the average capacity utilization is at a four-year high of 81.4 percent? That's because people are buying a lot of goods and services, thus creating a lot of employment. Nevertheless, dollar remittances alone have proven to be inadequate to propel the economy beyond the low-level equilibrium that it is trapped in right now-while creating a lot of social problems.
The signs of low-level equilibrium, nay social paralysis, are clear. On one hand, survey after survey from both the Pulse Asia and the Social Weather Stations show the continuing poverty and hopelessness of many Filipinos, particularly in the lower social strata. On the other, we often hear some people in the middle and the richer classes saying that "the Philippine economy has been growing quite decently in the last few years despite the country's political problems."
And true enough, the property markets have been sizzling lately, an indication that the country's richer classes whose wealth are largely based on ownership and control of real-estate properties are starting to make a killing off those dollar remittances.
These contrasting perspectives appear to be producing some sort of social paralysis, a kind of social complacency that takes away the urgency of pursuing painful but crucial economic and political reforms. The remittance dollars seem to have become manna from heaven that has taken away our ambition to rise from the heap and join the rest of the Asia-Pacific community in the race for development and real progress.
The main point here is that overseas employment is not the real solution to this country's failure to achieve development. We acknowledge the importance of this sector-once upon a time it was truly necessary-but it can never be a substitute for internally generated growth. And this one could only be achieved if we have the courage to address corruption in government, remove all barriers to entrepreneurial activities, collect the taxes finance infrastructure development, and ensure transparency and predictability in the country's regulatory environment. And while doing this, we need to address with greater urgency the growing social problem engendered by the dollar remittance mentality in our midst.
Economist and former planning secretary Cielito Habito's story a few years ago should serve as a warning to all us. Habito's wife runs a school in Los Baños and noticed that the most problematic kids are those whose parents are working abroad. Many of these kids, he said, are underachievers, lack motivation for school work, lack focus and can't seem to get along well with other students. To put a face to this observation, one need only recall that a few months ago, the Laguna police arrested the three young sons of OFW icon Flor Contemplacion for drug dealing, right from their home.
Habito said the experience in the Los Baños school is alarming, considering that about 10 percent of Filipinos are working abroad. If that situation in Laguna reflects the national trend, then we have a social time bomb waiting to explode.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
OFW remittances reach .7 B in Nov.
OFW remittances reach .7 B in Nov.
Sat Jan 14,2006
Manila Bulettin
http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2006011453768.html#
Filipino migrant workers remitted .7 billion in the first eleven months of 2005, up 26.6 percent from the previous year’s .7 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said yesterday.
Last November overseas Filipino workers sent home 5 million, an increase of 21.8 percent yearonyear. "Total amount of remittances coursed through the banks is projected to reach .7 billion for 2005," BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said. Including non-bank remittances, total OFW cash expected is .3 billion.
For 2006 the target for remittances is .8 billion and including non-bank cash, .5 billion.
The central bank said there is continuing demand for Filipino workers. Based on preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed that the total number of deployed workers from January to November 2005 rose by 3.9 percent, reaching 900, 639 from 867, 125 during the same period in 2004.
BSP officials added that the continued preference for Filipino sea-based and higher-paid land-based workers helped support the level of remittances during the eleven-month period. Classified by type, land-based workers, comprising almost threefourths of deployed workers numbered 674, 365 while sea-based workers reached 226, 274. By country of destination, majority of Filipino workers are deployed in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Japan, United Arab Emirates and Taiwan.
According to Tetangco, "efforts by financial institutions to direct remittances through the banking channels also contributed to the higher level of remittances."
In the meantime, commercial banks continued their vigorous campaign to provide banking services to the growing number of Filipino workers abroad through enhanced modes of money transfers, as well as wider network/presence through increased number of remittance centers and tie-ups with foreign financial counterparts resulting in a better capture of remittances.
The central bank hopes to record more of these fund transfers when they go through the formal channels or sent via the banking system. About 75 percent of cash transfers are made through the banks, while 25 percent are through informal networks.
Last year, OFWs remitted .54 billion, the highest recorded fund transfers since the 1970s when the first big batch of migrant workers were deployed as a labor problem solution. The 2004 remittances were higher by 11.8 percent from .63 billion in 2003.
Sat Jan 14,2006
Manila Bulettin
http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2006011453768.html#
Filipino migrant workers remitted .7 billion in the first eleven months of 2005, up 26.6 percent from the previous year’s .7 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said yesterday.
Last November overseas Filipino workers sent home 5 million, an increase of 21.8 percent yearonyear. "Total amount of remittances coursed through the banks is projected to reach .7 billion for 2005," BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said. Including non-bank remittances, total OFW cash expected is .3 billion.
For 2006 the target for remittances is .8 billion and including non-bank cash, .5 billion.
The central bank said there is continuing demand for Filipino workers. Based on preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed that the total number of deployed workers from January to November 2005 rose by 3.9 percent, reaching 900, 639 from 867, 125 during the same period in 2004.
BSP officials added that the continued preference for Filipino sea-based and higher-paid land-based workers helped support the level of remittances during the eleven-month period. Classified by type, land-based workers, comprising almost threefourths of deployed workers numbered 674, 365 while sea-based workers reached 226, 274. By country of destination, majority of Filipino workers are deployed in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Japan, United Arab Emirates and Taiwan.
According to Tetangco, "efforts by financial institutions to direct remittances through the banking channels also contributed to the higher level of remittances."
In the meantime, commercial banks continued their vigorous campaign to provide banking services to the growing number of Filipino workers abroad through enhanced modes of money transfers, as well as wider network/presence through increased number of remittance centers and tie-ups with foreign financial counterparts resulting in a better capture of remittances.
The central bank hopes to record more of these fund transfers when they go through the formal channels or sent via the banking system. About 75 percent of cash transfers are made through the banks, while 25 percent are through informal networks.
Last year, OFWs remitted .54 billion, the highest recorded fund transfers since the 1970s when the first big batch of migrant workers were deployed as a labor problem solution. The 2004 remittances were higher by 11.8 percent from .63 billion in 2003.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Remittances hit $9.7b in 11 months
Remittances hit $9.7b in 11 months
By Eileen A. Mencias
Manila Standard Today
January 13, 2006
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business04_jan14_2006
Remittances from Filipinos working abroad totaled $9.73 billion in the first 11 months of 2005, up 26.6 percent from $7.7 billion on-year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported yesterday.
BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. attributed the rise in remittances to the continued deployment of Filipino workers overseas as well as efforts to encourage the use of formal channels such as banks in sending money home.
Citing preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the BSP said deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) grew 3.9 percent to 900,639 during the 11-month period from 867,125 a year ago.
It said demand for Filipino seafarers and professionals remain high.
Land-based workers accounted for about three-fourths of the total while sea-based workers contributed a fourth. Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan were the main destination of Filipino workers.
Other sources of remittances included United States, Italy and Singapore.
Banks have been innovating their system on money transfers and establishing more remittance centers abroad to make their services more accessible to over five million OFWs. Other banks have forged tie-ups with foreign financial institutions to service the needs of Filipino workers.
The heavy remittance flows helped the peso to recover back to the 52:$1 level from the 55 in the middle of last year.
The BSP expects remittances coursed through banks to total $11.7 billion this year, up 10 percent growth from an estimated $10.7 billion last year.
By Eileen A. Mencias
Manila Standard Today
January 13, 2006
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business04_jan14_2006
Remittances from Filipinos working abroad totaled $9.73 billion in the first 11 months of 2005, up 26.6 percent from $7.7 billion on-year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported yesterday.
BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. attributed the rise in remittances to the continued deployment of Filipino workers overseas as well as efforts to encourage the use of formal channels such as banks in sending money home.
Citing preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the BSP said deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) grew 3.9 percent to 900,639 during the 11-month period from 867,125 a year ago.
It said demand for Filipino seafarers and professionals remain high.
Land-based workers accounted for about three-fourths of the total while sea-based workers contributed a fourth. Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan were the main destination of Filipino workers.
Other sources of remittances included United States, Italy and Singapore.
Banks have been innovating their system on money transfers and establishing more remittance centers abroad to make their services more accessible to over five million OFWs. Other banks have forged tie-ups with foreign financial institutions to service the needs of Filipino workers.
The heavy remittance flows helped the peso to recover back to the 52:$1 level from the 55 in the middle of last year.
The BSP expects remittances coursed through banks to total $11.7 billion this year, up 10 percent growth from an estimated $10.7 billion last year.
Filipino seafarers overseas employment exceeds mark in ‘05
Filipino seafarers overseas employment exceeds mark in ‘05
Jan 13, 2006
Updated 04:47pm (Mla time)
Veronica Uy
INQ7.net
http://news.inq7.net/express/html_output/20060113-62829.xml.html
THE total global employment contracts processed for overseas Filipino seafarers surpassed the 300,000 mark in 2005, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said Friday. She said 302,328 overseas Filipino seafarers contracts were processed globally in 2005, a 3.7 percent increase from last year’s 291,516 processed contracts.
The increase shows the global "demand and preferences" for Filipino seafarers, Sto. Tomas said. The labor chief said the 2005 contracts comprised a third of the 981,337 employment processed for both land- and sea-based overseas Filipino workers in 2005. Earlier, Sto. Tomas said the global maritime industry will need some 35,000 officers in the next five to 10 years.
©2006 www.inq7.net all rights reserved
Jan 13, 2006
Updated 04:47pm (Mla time)
Veronica Uy
INQ7.net
http://news.inq7.net/express/html_output/20060113-62829.xml.html
THE total global employment contracts processed for overseas Filipino seafarers surpassed the 300,000 mark in 2005, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said Friday. She said 302,328 overseas Filipino seafarers contracts were processed globally in 2005, a 3.7 percent increase from last year’s 291,516 processed contracts.
The increase shows the global "demand and preferences" for Filipino seafarers, Sto. Tomas said. The labor chief said the 2005 contracts comprised a third of the 981,337 employment processed for both land- and sea-based overseas Filipino workers in 2005. Earlier, Sto. Tomas said the global maritime industry will need some 35,000 officers in the next five to 10 years.
©2006 www.inq7.net all rights reserved
Thursday, January 12, 2006
There's The Rub : And now the teachers
There's The Rub : And now the teachers
Jan 10, 2006
Updated 00:38am (Mla time)
Conrado de Quiros dequiros@info.com.ph
Inquirer
http://news.inq7.net/express/html_output/20060110-62451.xml.html
ALEJANDRO Lichauco had a very interesting article last week. Government, he said, is rejoicing over something that it really ought to be grieving about. The inflow of foreign exchange that has strengthened the peso, he said, has a humongous cost, one that will ravage the country in the long run. “The rising level of inward remittances from our overseas workers is the most valuable evidence of the brain drain we are experiencing.”
But that’s not the worst of it, he said. What is worst is that our overseas workers now include teachers. “A decade or so ago, we hardly heard of teachers joining the club of overseas workers. Entertainers, yes, along with carpenters, mechanics, and other skilled workers. Now it seems that teachers haven’t only joined the workers’ exodus but in fact have come to outnumber the entertainers and perhaps the plumbers, carpenters and other skilled workers too.
“In essence, what we are gaining in dollars, we are losing in valuable human and intellectual capital… This is far more devastating than the drain of our natural wealth, lost through our indiscriminate exportation of natural resources.”
I myself have learned that the remittances shot up from $8 billion last year to a whopping $12 billion this year, the $10 billion through normal government-monitored channels and the remaining $2 billion through the backdoor. But however the dollars got in, they boosted the peso tremendously. Part of the reason for the rise in remittances was that, times being hard, the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) gave more to tide their families and relatives over. The other reason was that true enough, the new entrants to the force, the caregivers and the teachers, earned more and so could afford to send more.
My own sources say caregivers remain the biggest drain on the country, not the teachers. That is so because teaching requires more language skills than care-giving. But which also means that it’s the cream of the crop in the teaching profession that’s being lured abroad.
I share Lichauco’s dismay, or alarm, at the depth of the brain drain. This is brain drain in the very literal sense of the word. We’re no longer being drained of excess labor, we’re being drained of critical manpower. It’s bad enough that the hospitals and clinics are losing doctors and nurses, it’s worse that the universities are losing teachers. Last I looked, which was five years ago in the Asia Week ranking of schools, our top three universities, which used to vie for the top spots among Asian academic institutions, had slipped to No. 48, No. 71 and No. 72. It’s Singapore that is outpacing everyone, paying huge sums to teachers from Asia and other countries. It has its priorities in the right place. Knowledge is the greatest capital there is.
The loss to the country is additionally enormous given that the cost of training the teachers and nurses, many of whom are doctors. The joke that you have to pass the medical board exams first to study to become a nurse falls on this country. To paraphrase a local proverb, we’re the ones who cooked the rice, somebody else ate it.
Now, every time you complain about this, you’re bound to encounter an idiot who tells you to criticize the politicians all you want but leave the caregivers and other OFWs well enough alone. What can I say? It is a testament to our increasing loss not just of the people who are taking care of our bodies but those who are taking care of our minds that many Filipinos are now hard put to think, let alone think clearly. Let me put it as starkly as I can: I do not blame OFWs, I do not disparage caregivers, I do not denigrate the dignity of labor in whatever form. But I do fulminate against several things:
One is the havoc the Diaspora is wreaking upon the country, and will continue to wreak upon the country. Who doesn’t want to get out of the country given the absolute mess the government has made of it? But understanding the reasons people are desperate to leave it cannot blind you either to the fact that the massive exodus, or the compelling desire to join, is pauperizing the country beyond belief. When you have thousands of doctors turning themselves into caregivers just to work abroad, you know you’re in deep organic fertilizer. You add to that your best teachers, and Lichauco is right to complain the not-very-long-term impact is bound to be more incalculable than the loss of our forests and fishes.
Two is the attitude of mediocrity -- no, the defeatist mentality that says beggars cannot be choosers -- that the entire syndrome is foisting on us. I have no problem with caregivers per se, I have every problem with the height of our national aspiration, or the zenith of our personal ambitions, being reduced to becoming a caregiver. I have a problem with the entire educational system being refashioned -- whole nursing wings have sprouted in universities -- to serve the purpose. I have a problem with an entire nation whose mental, intellectual and human horizons do not go past surviving by cleaning the toilet bowls of the world. We’re not just the sick man of Asia, we’re the joke of Asia.
And three is a government that not only does not attempt to hold on to the country’s best and brightest but drives them mercilessly away. I do not know what the solution to the current Diaspora is; it’s become a monstrous problem. I do know the solution to it is not a government that is making this country unlivable and profits from it by getting more and more dollars from the people it drives away. That is the real double whammy.
But now the teachers too! The only time the Diaspora will serve a great purpose is if we started exporting our public officials. With the label: “Not fragile, feel free to rough up. ”
©2006 www.inq7.net all rights reserved
Jan 10, 2006
Updated 00:38am (Mla time)
Conrado de Quiros dequiros@info.com.ph
Inquirer
http://news.inq7.net/express/html_output/20060110-62451.xml.html
ALEJANDRO Lichauco had a very interesting article last week. Government, he said, is rejoicing over something that it really ought to be grieving about. The inflow of foreign exchange that has strengthened the peso, he said, has a humongous cost, one that will ravage the country in the long run. “The rising level of inward remittances from our overseas workers is the most valuable evidence of the brain drain we are experiencing.”
But that’s not the worst of it, he said. What is worst is that our overseas workers now include teachers. “A decade or so ago, we hardly heard of teachers joining the club of overseas workers. Entertainers, yes, along with carpenters, mechanics, and other skilled workers. Now it seems that teachers haven’t only joined the workers’ exodus but in fact have come to outnumber the entertainers and perhaps the plumbers, carpenters and other skilled workers too.
“In essence, what we are gaining in dollars, we are losing in valuable human and intellectual capital… This is far more devastating than the drain of our natural wealth, lost through our indiscriminate exportation of natural resources.”
I myself have learned that the remittances shot up from $8 billion last year to a whopping $12 billion this year, the $10 billion through normal government-monitored channels and the remaining $2 billion through the backdoor. But however the dollars got in, they boosted the peso tremendously. Part of the reason for the rise in remittances was that, times being hard, the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) gave more to tide their families and relatives over. The other reason was that true enough, the new entrants to the force, the caregivers and the teachers, earned more and so could afford to send more.
My own sources say caregivers remain the biggest drain on the country, not the teachers. That is so because teaching requires more language skills than care-giving. But which also means that it’s the cream of the crop in the teaching profession that’s being lured abroad.
I share Lichauco’s dismay, or alarm, at the depth of the brain drain. This is brain drain in the very literal sense of the word. We’re no longer being drained of excess labor, we’re being drained of critical manpower. It’s bad enough that the hospitals and clinics are losing doctors and nurses, it’s worse that the universities are losing teachers. Last I looked, which was five years ago in the Asia Week ranking of schools, our top three universities, which used to vie for the top spots among Asian academic institutions, had slipped to No. 48, No. 71 and No. 72. It’s Singapore that is outpacing everyone, paying huge sums to teachers from Asia and other countries. It has its priorities in the right place. Knowledge is the greatest capital there is.
The loss to the country is additionally enormous given that the cost of training the teachers and nurses, many of whom are doctors. The joke that you have to pass the medical board exams first to study to become a nurse falls on this country. To paraphrase a local proverb, we’re the ones who cooked the rice, somebody else ate it.
Now, every time you complain about this, you’re bound to encounter an idiot who tells you to criticize the politicians all you want but leave the caregivers and other OFWs well enough alone. What can I say? It is a testament to our increasing loss not just of the people who are taking care of our bodies but those who are taking care of our minds that many Filipinos are now hard put to think, let alone think clearly. Let me put it as starkly as I can: I do not blame OFWs, I do not disparage caregivers, I do not denigrate the dignity of labor in whatever form. But I do fulminate against several things:
One is the havoc the Diaspora is wreaking upon the country, and will continue to wreak upon the country. Who doesn’t want to get out of the country given the absolute mess the government has made of it? But understanding the reasons people are desperate to leave it cannot blind you either to the fact that the massive exodus, or the compelling desire to join, is pauperizing the country beyond belief. When you have thousands of doctors turning themselves into caregivers just to work abroad, you know you’re in deep organic fertilizer. You add to that your best teachers, and Lichauco is right to complain the not-very-long-term impact is bound to be more incalculable than the loss of our forests and fishes.
Two is the attitude of mediocrity -- no, the defeatist mentality that says beggars cannot be choosers -- that the entire syndrome is foisting on us. I have no problem with caregivers per se, I have every problem with the height of our national aspiration, or the zenith of our personal ambitions, being reduced to becoming a caregiver. I have a problem with the entire educational system being refashioned -- whole nursing wings have sprouted in universities -- to serve the purpose. I have a problem with an entire nation whose mental, intellectual and human horizons do not go past surviving by cleaning the toilet bowls of the world. We’re not just the sick man of Asia, we’re the joke of Asia.
And three is a government that not only does not attempt to hold on to the country’s best and brightest but drives them mercilessly away. I do not know what the solution to the current Diaspora is; it’s become a monstrous problem. I do know the solution to it is not a government that is making this country unlivable and profits from it by getting more and more dollars from the people it drives away. That is the real double whammy.
But now the teachers too! The only time the Diaspora will serve a great purpose is if we started exporting our public officials. With the label: “Not fragile, feel free to rough up. ”
©2006 www.inq7.net all rights reserved
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
BSP keeps tabs on possible inflationary impact of OFW remittances
BSP keeps tabs on possible inflationary impact of OFW remittances
By Des Ferriols
The Philippine Star 01/10/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200601100702.htm
Dollar inflows from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been the bright spot in the country’s economy but monetary officials are wary over the imminent inflationary impact of increased spending that might eventually require a tightening of monetary policies.
Although still concerned about the volatility in world oil prices, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said monetary policies in 2006 would be pitched against the risks of excessive liquidity building up due to dollar remittances.
This year, the BSP expects OFW remittances to reach at least $11.8 billion, possibly as much as $13 billion, including remittances that are not coursed through the banking system.
BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said the sheer volume of remittances from Filipinos working abroad could lead to a build-up in excess liquidity, especially since OFW money is mostly being used for consumption and not investment.
Tetangco said OFW inflows could be a cause of inflationary pressure since the overall 2006 economic growth is expected to continue at a "reasonable" pace with no danger of overheating.
He said growth would be driven mainly by services and industry but agriculture is also expected to contribute due to favorable weather conditions this year. But he said the rise in oil prices over the past year would likely exert some impact on domestic demand, particularly on consumption spending.
Tetangco expects inflation to be higher this year, but the recent strengthening of the peso and easing of world oil prices from their peak in 2005 will would help counterbalance the effect of the value added tax adjustment.
"Nevertheless, the risks to inflation continue to be mainly on the upside," Tetangco said. "This is because oil prices are still likely to remain high relative to their historical trend given limited production capacity."
Tetangco said the BSP still expects 2006 inflation to be in the range of 7.5 to 8.2 percent, way above the inflation target of five to six percent for the whole year.
The BSP governor said there was also specific concern on the dollar inflows from OFW remittances and investments. "These would give us astrong external position this year and with healthy inflows, the exchange rate would likely remain stable at current levels."
However, Tetangco said there were still risks to price stability, especially since economic managers have to ensure macro-economic stabilization in the short term while also preserving the momentum.
"Monetary policymaking at the BSP will, therefore, be pitched against the volatility of world oil prices and the build-up excessive liquidity owing to dollar inflows," he said. "We are also looking at the possible exchange rate reaction to the narrowing of interest rate differentials and adverse shifts in the public’s inflation expectations."
"The public can expect that the BSP will be thorough in ensuring that these risks will not be allowed to materialize," he said. "The BSP will deny any breeding ground for any incipient inflationary pressures, especially those coming from the demand side."
By Des Ferriols
The Philippine Star 01/10/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200601100702.htm
Dollar inflows from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been the bright spot in the country’s economy but monetary officials are wary over the imminent inflationary impact of increased spending that might eventually require a tightening of monetary policies.
Although still concerned about the volatility in world oil prices, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said monetary policies in 2006 would be pitched against the risks of excessive liquidity building up due to dollar remittances.
This year, the BSP expects OFW remittances to reach at least $11.8 billion, possibly as much as $13 billion, including remittances that are not coursed through the banking system.
BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said the sheer volume of remittances from Filipinos working abroad could lead to a build-up in excess liquidity, especially since OFW money is mostly being used for consumption and not investment.
Tetangco said OFW inflows could be a cause of inflationary pressure since the overall 2006 economic growth is expected to continue at a "reasonable" pace with no danger of overheating.
He said growth would be driven mainly by services and industry but agriculture is also expected to contribute due to favorable weather conditions this year. But he said the rise in oil prices over the past year would likely exert some impact on domestic demand, particularly on consumption spending.
Tetangco expects inflation to be higher this year, but the recent strengthening of the peso and easing of world oil prices from their peak in 2005 will would help counterbalance the effect of the value added tax adjustment.
"Nevertheless, the risks to inflation continue to be mainly on the upside," Tetangco said. "This is because oil prices are still likely to remain high relative to their historical trend given limited production capacity."
Tetangco said the BSP still expects 2006 inflation to be in the range of 7.5 to 8.2 percent, way above the inflation target of five to six percent for the whole year.
The BSP governor said there was also specific concern on the dollar inflows from OFW remittances and investments. "These would give us astrong external position this year and with healthy inflows, the exchange rate would likely remain stable at current levels."
However, Tetangco said there were still risks to price stability, especially since economic managers have to ensure macro-economic stabilization in the short term while also preserving the momentum.
"Monetary policymaking at the BSP will, therefore, be pitched against the volatility of world oil prices and the build-up excessive liquidity owing to dollar inflows," he said. "We are also looking at the possible exchange rate reaction to the narrowing of interest rate differentials and adverse shifts in the public’s inflation expectations."
"The public can expect that the BSP will be thorough in ensuring that these risks will not be allowed to materialize," he said. "The BSP will deny any breeding ground for any incipient inflationary pressures, especially those coming from the demand side."
Monday, January 09, 2006
BSP says OFW remittances to increase to $13.5b this year
BSP says OFW remittances to increase to $13.5b this year
By Eileen A. Mencias
January 9, 2006
Manila Standard Today
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business02_jan09_2006
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said it expects remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) this year to hit $13.5 billion, roughly 10 percent more than the estimated $12.3 billion in 2005.
BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said demand for Filipino labor, especially in higher-paying jobs like those in the health industry, continues to be strong and shows no signs of tapering off.
OFW remittances have helped the Philippine economy for several years, bringing in much-needed foreign currency.
Remittances, one of the major factors in the recent appreciation of the peso, have also increased consumer spending despite double-digit unemployment levels.
The BSP is working out an incentive program to encourage Filipino migrant workers to tap formal banking channels in sending money home rather than relying on informal means such as the padala system.
Of the $12.3 billion estimated remittances by the more than five million OFWs last year, only $10.7 billion passed through banks and other formal channels, BSP Deputy Gov. Diwa Guinigundo said.
Guinigundo said BSP preliminary estimates show only $12.3 billion of the expected $13.5 billion remittances this year will pass through formal channels.
The BSP has been exerting efforts to bring down the cost of sending money to the Philippines to lure migrant workers tap formal channels.
Despite risks, some have opted for informal channels because it is much cheaper.
Initial discussions raised the possibility of coming up with contests or raffles to encourage Filipinos working abroad to tap banks when sending money home.
The BSP’s program for Filipino migrant workers focuses on four major components: payments and settlements, financial savings and investments, international relations and advocacy campaign. Action plans for the four areas are already being drafted.
The BSP incentive program for OFWs is in response to Executive Order No. 446 signed on July 12, 2005. The EO assigned the labor department to oversee and coordinate the implementation of various initiatives for Filipino migrant workers.
By Eileen A. Mencias
January 9, 2006
Manila Standard Today
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business02_jan09_2006
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said it expects remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) this year to hit $13.5 billion, roughly 10 percent more than the estimated $12.3 billion in 2005.
BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said demand for Filipino labor, especially in higher-paying jobs like those in the health industry, continues to be strong and shows no signs of tapering off.
OFW remittances have helped the Philippine economy for several years, bringing in much-needed foreign currency.
Remittances, one of the major factors in the recent appreciation of the peso, have also increased consumer spending despite double-digit unemployment levels.
The BSP is working out an incentive program to encourage Filipino migrant workers to tap formal banking channels in sending money home rather than relying on informal means such as the padala system.
Of the $12.3 billion estimated remittances by the more than five million OFWs last year, only $10.7 billion passed through banks and other formal channels, BSP Deputy Gov. Diwa Guinigundo said.
Guinigundo said BSP preliminary estimates show only $12.3 billion of the expected $13.5 billion remittances this year will pass through formal channels.
The BSP has been exerting efforts to bring down the cost of sending money to the Philippines to lure migrant workers tap formal channels.
Despite risks, some have opted for informal channels because it is much cheaper.
Initial discussions raised the possibility of coming up with contests or raffles to encourage Filipinos working abroad to tap banks when sending money home.
The BSP’s program for Filipino migrant workers focuses on four major components: payments and settlements, financial savings and investments, international relations and advocacy campaign. Action plans for the four areas are already being drafted.
The BSP incentive program for OFWs is in response to Executive Order No. 446 signed on July 12, 2005. The EO assigned the labor department to oversee and coordinate the implementation of various initiatives for Filipino migrant workers.
BSP says no to sp’l instruments for OFWs
BSP says no to sp’l instruments for OFWs
By Des Ferriols
The Philippine Star 01/09/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200601090703.htm
The massive inflow of remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) should be mobilized for investments but the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) bucked the idea of creating special investment instruments with special tax perks for OFWs.
OFW remittances have been fueling the country’s economic growth but monetary officials said OFWs and their families should be encouraged to invest their money.
BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said over the weekend that much of the OFW money being sent into the country has been going into consumer spending.
"That’s not bad for the short-term but over the long term, these funds would do more for the families and the economy if they are invested rather than just spent," Tetangco said.
The BSP had initially considered supporting programs aimed specifically at mobilizing OFW remittances but officials said this might actually create more problems than it will solve.
Tetangco said the Philippines is now the third biggest recipient of workers’ remittances and OFW remittances are now equivalent to 10.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Compared to foreign exchange receipts, remittances are equivalent to over 20 percent of the value of the country’s exports of goods and services.
"In fact, remittances are about 1.8 times the value of net exports of electronics, our number one export product," Tetangco said.
"It’s an offshoot of the combination of two factors: the lack of opportunities at home and the demand for labor offshore," he said. "Remittances are likely to remain strong due to the continued expansion in the global economy and the aging population in some advanced nations."
So far, however, Tetangco said OFW investments have focused on housing development because homeownership is usually the first objective of OFWs and their families.
"You can see this in the pick-up in investments in housing developments," he said.
According to Tetangco, over $100 million of the foreign direct investments recorded in 2005 were actually investments in residential housing developments made by OFWs.
After acquiring a house, however, Tetangco said longer term investment options should be made available to OFWs who would continue generating income from abroad.
However, Tetangco said offering specialized instruments directed mainly at OFWs would only create distortions in the financial and equities market at a time when regulators are trying to homogenize the taxation of all financial instruments to remove distortions.
According to Tetangco, banks should instead go heavily into the promotion of traditional investment instruments and, eventually, more sophisticated products that OFWs could invest in.
"Some of the banks heavily involved in remittances are already going to workstations to conduct financial education campaigns," Tetangco said. "OFWs are actually very sophisticated individuals who need only to be aware of their options."
According to Tetangco, the BSP expected to see a gradual increase in investments in such instruments as trust funds, mutual funds and other financial instruments.
"As we make the market safer for investors, we also have to teach them not just their options but their rights as well," he said. "It’s a slow process but it will happen."
By Des Ferriols
The Philippine Star 01/09/2006
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200601090703.htm
The massive inflow of remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) should be mobilized for investments but the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) bucked the idea of creating special investment instruments with special tax perks for OFWs.
OFW remittances have been fueling the country’s economic growth but monetary officials said OFWs and their families should be encouraged to invest their money.
BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said over the weekend that much of the OFW money being sent into the country has been going into consumer spending.
"That’s not bad for the short-term but over the long term, these funds would do more for the families and the economy if they are invested rather than just spent," Tetangco said.
The BSP had initially considered supporting programs aimed specifically at mobilizing OFW remittances but officials said this might actually create more problems than it will solve.
Tetangco said the Philippines is now the third biggest recipient of workers’ remittances and OFW remittances are now equivalent to 10.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Compared to foreign exchange receipts, remittances are equivalent to over 20 percent of the value of the country’s exports of goods and services.
"In fact, remittances are about 1.8 times the value of net exports of electronics, our number one export product," Tetangco said.
"It’s an offshoot of the combination of two factors: the lack of opportunities at home and the demand for labor offshore," he said. "Remittances are likely to remain strong due to the continued expansion in the global economy and the aging population in some advanced nations."
So far, however, Tetangco said OFW investments have focused on housing development because homeownership is usually the first objective of OFWs and their families.
"You can see this in the pick-up in investments in housing developments," he said.
According to Tetangco, over $100 million of the foreign direct investments recorded in 2005 were actually investments in residential housing developments made by OFWs.
After acquiring a house, however, Tetangco said longer term investment options should be made available to OFWs who would continue generating income from abroad.
However, Tetangco said offering specialized instruments directed mainly at OFWs would only create distortions in the financial and equities market at a time when regulators are trying to homogenize the taxation of all financial instruments to remove distortions.
According to Tetangco, banks should instead go heavily into the promotion of traditional investment instruments and, eventually, more sophisticated products that OFWs could invest in.
"Some of the banks heavily involved in remittances are already going to workstations to conduct financial education campaigns," Tetangco said. "OFWs are actually very sophisticated individuals who need only to be aware of their options."
According to Tetangco, the BSP expected to see a gradual increase in investments in such instruments as trust funds, mutual funds and other financial instruments.
"As we make the market safer for investors, we also have to teach them not just their options but their rights as well," he said. "It’s a slow process but it will happen."
Saturday, January 07, 2006
The Price for Remittances
PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
The price for remittances
- Pati Poblete
Monday, December 26, 2005
IF THERE'S ONE THING the holiday season has taught me, it's that Catholic guilt has got nothing on that of a migrant's.
For as long as I can remember, my parents -- the first to come to America in both their families -- constantly reminded me about my poor cousins in the Philippines.
When I refused to finish my food, I was told my poor cousins would be so lucky to eat my leftovers. When I complained about my clothes, my dad lectured me about how my poor cousins had to walk the dirt roads of the provinces shirtless and shoeless.
And -- my personal favorite -- when I wanted new toys for Christmas, I was told my poor cousins had to drag around empty sardine cans by a string and imagine they were shiny cars.
I'd watch my mom fill up huge, empty boxes with cans of Spam, corned beef, Vienna sausages, chocolates, bed sheets, clothes and towels. "These are for your cousins and my brothers and sisters for the new year," she'd say. "We're lucky we're in America so we can help them."
As I grew up, I carried the guilt with me, sending $100 here and there in remittances to countless cousins who I had never met or spoken to. I imagined the money going toward clothing those shirtless, shoeless cousins, and providing them with real toys rather than empty sardine cans.
My mom would send even more money, even when she faced financial hardships of her own. "No matter how poor we get, they are always poorer," she would say.
So when our whole family went to the Philippines in April, I was eager to meet finally the cousins and aunts and uncles who my parents had been helping for so many years. We packed extra clothes so we could give them away, and brought canned foods and candies for our other relatives.
When we arrived, my older cousin, Lani, greeted us at the airport, though she almost didn't notice us because she was busy text messaging on her cell phone. She led us to where our other relatives were waiting and proceeded to take pictures with a tiny digital camera that could have passed for a key chain.
I spent the week getting to know them and asking them questions. Uncle Edwin, my mom's youngest brother, had stopped working, I was told. With all the money he was getting in remittances from America, he didn't need to work anymore.
My mom's eldest sister, Gloria, had stopped working as well, after her daughter went overseas to Hong Kong to work as a maid. What little money her daughter sent was enough to keep her from working, she said.
Our eldest cousin, Jerry, had left for Saudi Arabia to work in a factory. His remittances were enough for each of our cousins to buy their own cell phones.
Four of my cousins had dropped out of high school. "Why finish school when the money is in America?" they asked.
I looked around at the open market space down the road from my grandmother's house and stared at the raw fish covered with flies. Vendors sold flat soft drinks in small plastic bags with makeshift straws placed in them. Yes, it was a poor country and no matter how bad it got in America, I was indeed luckier than my cousins.
But sending money so that they could stop working was not helping them, or the Philippines.
In 2001, International Monetary Fund figures showed that Filipinos working abroad sent an estimated $6 billion back home, placing them third behind migrants sending remittances to India and Mexico. Last year, that number went up to $8.8 billion.
According to a study by the International Monetary Fund, "remittances do not appear to be intended to serve as capital for economic development, but as compensation for poor economic performance."
The study also revealed that the money sent from migrants to their families is mostly spent on consumer items, such as clothes and cell phones, rather than business investments.
"But they will think we are selfish," my mom said when I urged her to send the money to an organization instead, that would build schools and homes in her hometown. "They won't see that money."
She had survivor's guilt, living in a country of prosperity while her family still lived in a developing one. But what good was the money bringing to a country whose communities were filled with unemployed and unproductive citizens because of it?
New schools, better roads, sturdier roofs, and an incentive to build their own communities, that's what my poor cousins need.
There's no shame -- or guilt -- in that.
Pati Poblete is a Chronicle editorial writer. E-mail her at ppoblete@sfchronicle.com
Page B - 4
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/
chronicle/archive/2005/12/26/EDG5TG18CN1.DTL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
©2006 San Francisco Chronicle
The price for remittances
- Pati Poblete
Monday, December 26, 2005
IF THERE'S ONE THING the holiday season has taught me, it's that Catholic guilt has got nothing on that of a migrant's.
For as long as I can remember, my parents -- the first to come to America in both their families -- constantly reminded me about my poor cousins in the Philippines.
When I refused to finish my food, I was told my poor cousins would be so lucky to eat my leftovers. When I complained about my clothes, my dad lectured me about how my poor cousins had to walk the dirt roads of the provinces shirtless and shoeless.
And -- my personal favorite -- when I wanted new toys for Christmas, I was told my poor cousins had to drag around empty sardine cans by a string and imagine they were shiny cars.
I'd watch my mom fill up huge, empty boxes with cans of Spam, corned beef, Vienna sausages, chocolates, bed sheets, clothes and towels. "These are for your cousins and my brothers and sisters for the new year," she'd say. "We're lucky we're in America so we can help them."
As I grew up, I carried the guilt with me, sending $100 here and there in remittances to countless cousins who I had never met or spoken to. I imagined the money going toward clothing those shirtless, shoeless cousins, and providing them with real toys rather than empty sardine cans.
My mom would send even more money, even when she faced financial hardships of her own. "No matter how poor we get, they are always poorer," she would say.
So when our whole family went to the Philippines in April, I was eager to meet finally the cousins and aunts and uncles who my parents had been helping for so many years. We packed extra clothes so we could give them away, and brought canned foods and candies for our other relatives.
When we arrived, my older cousin, Lani, greeted us at the airport, though she almost didn't notice us because she was busy text messaging on her cell phone. She led us to where our other relatives were waiting and proceeded to take pictures with a tiny digital camera that could have passed for a key chain.
I spent the week getting to know them and asking them questions. Uncle Edwin, my mom's youngest brother, had stopped working, I was told. With all the money he was getting in remittances from America, he didn't need to work anymore.
My mom's eldest sister, Gloria, had stopped working as well, after her daughter went overseas to Hong Kong to work as a maid. What little money her daughter sent was enough to keep her from working, she said.
Our eldest cousin, Jerry, had left for Saudi Arabia to work in a factory. His remittances were enough for each of our cousins to buy their own cell phones.
Four of my cousins had dropped out of high school. "Why finish school when the money is in America?" they asked.
I looked around at the open market space down the road from my grandmother's house and stared at the raw fish covered with flies. Vendors sold flat soft drinks in small plastic bags with makeshift straws placed in them. Yes, it was a poor country and no matter how bad it got in America, I was indeed luckier than my cousins.
But sending money so that they could stop working was not helping them, or the Philippines.
In 2001, International Monetary Fund figures showed that Filipinos working abroad sent an estimated $6 billion back home, placing them third behind migrants sending remittances to India and Mexico. Last year, that number went up to $8.8 billion.
According to a study by the International Monetary Fund, "remittances do not appear to be intended to serve as capital for economic development, but as compensation for poor economic performance."
The study also revealed that the money sent from migrants to their families is mostly spent on consumer items, such as clothes and cell phones, rather than business investments.
"But they will think we are selfish," my mom said when I urged her to send the money to an organization instead, that would build schools and homes in her hometown. "They won't see that money."
She had survivor's guilt, living in a country of prosperity while her family still lived in a developing one. But what good was the money bringing to a country whose communities were filled with unemployed and unproductive citizens because of it?
New schools, better roads, sturdier roofs, and an incentive to build their own communities, that's what my poor cousins need.
There's no shame -- or guilt -- in that.
Pati Poblete is a Chronicle editorial writer. E-mail her at ppoblete@sfchronicle.com
Page B - 4
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/
chronicle/archive/2005/12/26/EDG5TG18CN1.DTL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
©2006 San Francisco Chronicle
97 Distressed OFWs Get Plane Tickets From Governor’s Office
Arab News
The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=10§ion=0
&article=75928&d=7&m=1&y=2006
Saturday, 7, January, 2006 (07, Dhul Hijjah, 1426)
97 Distressed OFWs Get Plane Tickets From Governor’s Office
Arab News —
RIYADH, 7 January 2006 — Ninety-seven Filipino workers who have been staying at the Saudi Social Welfare Administration will soon be repatriated following the issuance of air tickets by the Riyadh Governorate, the Philippine Embassy announced yesterday.
Ambassador Bahnarim A. Guinomla said he has instructed his staff to work overtime in processing the travel documents for submission to the immigration authorities for the immediate departure of the distressed workers. Immigration authorities have set this day as the deadline for the submission of the travel papers.
According to the embassy, many of the workers ran away from their sponsors, although some of them were endorsed by the employers themselves or by the police.
Ambassador Guinomla wrote to the Office of the Governor and expressed his gratitude to Prince Salman ibn Abdulaziz for his generosity and compassion for the Filipino workers.
A press statement by the embassy explained that workers endorsed to SSWA have 21 days within which to resolve their problems with their sponsors although the maximum number of days they can stay at the facility is 45 days.
Earlier this week, 13 female workers who have been detained at Riyadh’s Al-Nisa Jail have been deported to the Philippines.
The embassy said most of the 13 were charged with “infractions on the laws on morality.”
“One was accused of theft and another of production of illegal drinks,” said the embassy statement.
Reminders
Because of these cases, the embassy has asked Filipinos in the Kingdom to strictly observe local rules and laws and stay away from potential causes of problems.
The embassy yesterday also asked OFWs to think many times before signing guarantees for friends or relatives.
In another statement, the embassy warned that a number of workers are in trouble because of guarantees they have signed. It cited the case of one hospital worker who has to suffer for the consequences when the bills of a friend he guaranteed for treatment overshot his capability to pay.
Another case involved four hospital workers who guaranteed for their fellow worker who had to leave for the Philippines to attend the burial of her father.
Since the worker did not return, the hospital management is now collecting on the guarantee of the four workers.
Similar cases have also been reported in other places.
In Jeddah, one worker who acted as guarantor for a friend working as clerk in a bank ended up paying when his friend left for the Philippines and never returned. The guarantor found out later that the friend he trusted, who had a wife and two children in Quezon City, absconded with the wife of another worker.
OAV Registration
Meanwhile, the embassy said it is suspending the registration of overseas absentee voters from today to Jan. 15 in observance of the Haj holidays.
The temporary suspension has been approved by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila, said Ambassador Guinomla.
At the same time, Guinomla appealed to members of the Filipino community who are qualified to vote to register as soon as possible and not to wait for the deadline.
He lamented the “lackluster response” from the community, with only 156 having signed up so far since the registration started about four months ago.
Guinomla asked community organizations across the Kingdom to help in the registration campaign so that every qualified voter exercise their right to pick the Philippines’ next leaders come 2007.
Copyright: Arab News © 2003 All rights reserved. Site designed by: arabix and powered by Eima IT
The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=10§ion=0
&article=75928&d=7&m=1&y=2006
Saturday, 7, January, 2006 (07, Dhul Hijjah, 1426)
97 Distressed OFWs Get Plane Tickets From Governor’s Office
Arab News —
RIYADH, 7 January 2006 — Ninety-seven Filipino workers who have been staying at the Saudi Social Welfare Administration will soon be repatriated following the issuance of air tickets by the Riyadh Governorate, the Philippine Embassy announced yesterday.
Ambassador Bahnarim A. Guinomla said he has instructed his staff to work overtime in processing the travel documents for submission to the immigration authorities for the immediate departure of the distressed workers. Immigration authorities have set this day as the deadline for the submission of the travel papers.
According to the embassy, many of the workers ran away from their sponsors, although some of them were endorsed by the employers themselves or by the police.
Ambassador Guinomla wrote to the Office of the Governor and expressed his gratitude to Prince Salman ibn Abdulaziz for his generosity and compassion for the Filipino workers.
A press statement by the embassy explained that workers endorsed to SSWA have 21 days within which to resolve their problems with their sponsors although the maximum number of days they can stay at the facility is 45 days.
Earlier this week, 13 female workers who have been detained at Riyadh’s Al-Nisa Jail have been deported to the Philippines.
The embassy said most of the 13 were charged with “infractions on the laws on morality.”
“One was accused of theft and another of production of illegal drinks,” said the embassy statement.
Reminders
Because of these cases, the embassy has asked Filipinos in the Kingdom to strictly observe local rules and laws and stay away from potential causes of problems.
The embassy yesterday also asked OFWs to think many times before signing guarantees for friends or relatives.
In another statement, the embassy warned that a number of workers are in trouble because of guarantees they have signed. It cited the case of one hospital worker who has to suffer for the consequences when the bills of a friend he guaranteed for treatment overshot his capability to pay.
Another case involved four hospital workers who guaranteed for their fellow worker who had to leave for the Philippines to attend the burial of her father.
Since the worker did not return, the hospital management is now collecting on the guarantee of the four workers.
Similar cases have also been reported in other places.
In Jeddah, one worker who acted as guarantor for a friend working as clerk in a bank ended up paying when his friend left for the Philippines and never returned. The guarantor found out later that the friend he trusted, who had a wife and two children in Quezon City, absconded with the wife of another worker.
OAV Registration
Meanwhile, the embassy said it is suspending the registration of overseas absentee voters from today to Jan. 15 in observance of the Haj holidays.
The temporary suspension has been approved by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila, said Ambassador Guinomla.
At the same time, Guinomla appealed to members of the Filipino community who are qualified to vote to register as soon as possible and not to wait for the deadline.
He lamented the “lackluster response” from the community, with only 156 having signed up so far since the registration started about four months ago.
Guinomla asked community organizations across the Kingdom to help in the registration campaign so that every qualified voter exercise their right to pick the Philippines’ next leaders come 2007.
Copyright: Arab News © 2003 All rights reserved. Site designed by: arabix and powered by Eima IT
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