House panel OKs remittance bill

ByDivina Nova Joy Dela Cruz

September 4, 2020

Families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in rural areas would benefit from
the proposed OFW Remittance Protection Act that was approved at the committee
level on Tuesday, according to Rep. Jose Maria Salceda.

House Bill 826, or “An Act Providing for Protection of Remittances of OFWs, and
for other Purposes,” was authored by Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr.

The measure seeks to grant a 50-percent discount from service fees imposed by
financial intermediaries and non-bank financial intermediaries on remittances sent
by OFWs to their immediate family members, regardless of the amount. Financial
and non-bank intermediaries providing remittance fee discounts may claim a tax
deduction from the discounts granted.
Salceda, chairman of the Ways and Means committee, said the bill primarily seeks
to augment the actual amount received by OFW families from decreased fees. He
explained that the measure would benefit beneficiaries that were “unbanked or are
in communities where only remittance centers are accessible conduits for money
transfers.”

“Many banks provide money transfer services at little to no cost. But many of the
poorest OFW families are in rural communities where banking services remain out
of reach. For these families, the remittance center is the only conduit,” he said in a
statement on Thursday.

He added that this would also provide relief for OFWs and their families who had
been affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

“These families are also probably struggling, as migrant workers are also facing
pay cuts and even job losses abroad due to Covid-19. As for OFWs who have
stable employment, we want to encourage them to send more money back to the
Philippines. It would help our economy,” Salceda said.

While the Department of Finance projected that the government would lose P1.3
billion in revenues if the bill becomes a law, Salceda stressed the need to provide
assistance to OFWs.

“Compared to the economic benefits that encouraging more remittances will bring,
napakaliit na bagay nito (this is such a small gesture). I think our OFWs and their
families deserve this also,” he said. “I would not withhold this assistance from a
critical sector in need such as OFW families. Kailangan nila ito (They need this).”
He added that the revenue loss could be recovered from other sources.

“My committee passes revenue generating measures regularly. This can be easily
recovered with small improvements in tax administration and compliance. And the
economic and humanitarian benefits are worth the fiscal cost,” he said.