MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte has filed a bill that aims to complement the pro-overseas Filipino worker (OFW) policies of former president Rodrigo Duterte through discounted rates on remittance fees.
Authored by Duterte and Benguet Rep. Eric Yap, House Bill 4469 seeks to provide OFWs lower rates on remittance fees and safeguard the hard-earned money they send to their families from exorbitant charges overseas.
“The money they send home helps the country ride out the economic shock triggered by the pandemic. It is important that we protect their earnings,” Duterte said.
He said the measure would protect OFW remittance fees from “usurious charges” as the nation commemorates the Month of Overseas Filipinos this December.
Cash remittances climbed to 5.1 percent from $29.9 billion in 2020 to $31.42 billion last year, exceeding the previous record of $30.13 billion in 2019.
OFW remittances increased to $2.84 billion or 3.8 percent in September alone, according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Among the OFW-friendly policies of the former president is the establishment of the Overseas Filipino Bank, which caters exclusively to OFWs.
Other co-authors of the bill are ACT-CIS party-list Reps. Jeffrey Soriano and Edvic Yap.
The bill proposes a 50 percent cut on OFW remittance fees imposed by banks and non-bank financial intermediaries.