'Incentives for firms hiring jobless OFWs'

MANILA, Philippines - Firms that retrain laid-off overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) due to the global economic meltdown may get special fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, a senator said. Senate labor committee chairman Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada said these can include tax credits, tax exemptions, income tax holidays, and duty-free importation of raw materials and equipment. "With these incentives, local companies - even those that had otherwise decided to freeze their hiring of employees due to the economic slowdown, would be able to absorb additional personnel from among the ranks of the retrenched OFWs," Estrada said in a press statement posted on the Senate website. He said he would push for the government's adoption and implementation of his "special incentives" proposal during the emergency summit reportedly to be held this month. Estrada said such incentives could help retrenched OFWs find new jobs on one hand, while helping local enterprises weather the effects of the crisis. In the latest data furnished to GMANews.TV, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) showed that 3,567 Filipinos from seven countries, including the Chinese province of Macau, have been the latest casualties of the global financial crisis. In contrast, the average daily deployment of Filipinos overseas remains steady at 3,647 every month, which more than offsets the number of lost jobs abroad since October, said POEA administrator Jennifer Manalili. Owing to its US export-dependent economy, Taiwan had the largest number of companies affected by the economic crunch. A total of 60 companies in the electronic, metal works and semi-conductor industry laid off 3,321 Filipino workers due to bankruptcy and retrenchment. Migrant workers' alliances and support groups have claimed that the actual number of retrenched OFWs is far higher than government accounts. On the other hand, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) admitted that the layoff trend is on the rise, and might persist and even escalate in the next months. It said the retraining of retrenched OFWs could help them find new jobs in other companies abroad or in local enterprises. "We must come up with innovative strategies in mitigating the effects of this recession on our workers and the economy," Estrada said as he expressed appreciation anew to the DoLE as well as other sectors that supported his call for the holding of an emergency summit on recession. - GMANews.TV