Duterte says admin preparing draft law for OFW bank

MANILA, Philippines  —  The government is drafting a law that would establish a separate bank for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), President Rodrigo Duterte said.

Duterte said the creation of a bank for migrant workers require a new law and could not be done through an executive order.

Acording to Duterte, the administration is in the process of turning the Philippine Postal Savings Bank (Postal Bank) into an OFW bank.

"We are acquiring it (Postal Bank). We are now preparing the law," the president told reporters in Hong Kong last Saturday.

Duterte admitted though that the bank may not be operational by October as stated previously by labor department.

"No, it will be difficult. It has to be studied. It has to pass Congress," the president said.

Duterte announced plans to convert state-owned thrift bank Postal Bank into a financial institution for OFWs last year.

Luis Carlos, Postal Bank assistant postmaster general for marketing, has said the government needs to infuse P2 billion to P3 billion to implement the president's plan

Duterte has also promised to create a separate agency that will handle the concerns of Filipino migrant workers, whose dollar remittances are keeping the Philippine economy afloat.

There are about 2.4 million Filipino migrant workers worldwide. Remittances sent home through banks by OFWs hit a record $26.9 billion in 2016 from $25.61 billion during the previous year.

Duterte topped the overseas absentee voting during the 2016 elections with more than 313,000 votes.