Libyan dinar-peso exchange to start Monday, says BSP

Starting Monday, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were repatriated from Libya due to the political turmoil there could exchange their Libyan dinar to Philippine pesos at all banks and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) offices nationwide. Each OFW would be allowed to exchange a maximum of P10,000 Libyan dinars, the BSP announced over the weekend. The offer is limited only to OFWs who were displaced by the current situation in Libya, the BSP said. The exchange shall be allowed only within seven banking days from the date of arrival of the OFW or from the date of issuance of the implementing BSP Memorandum to All Banks. Also, the OFWs will be required to present documents such as passport or valid travel papers issued and signed by the Philippine Embassy and stamped with the date of the their arrival in the Philippines.

Data from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) showed that there are about 26,000 Filipinos in Libya, most of them migrant workers. In approving the Currency Exchange Facility, the BSP’s Monetary Board (MB) took into account the crisis situation in Libya that prevented OFWs from converting their Libyan dinars to other acceptable foreign currency. BSP officer-in-charge Juan de Zuniga Jr. has issued Memorandum to All Banks No. M-2011-012 dated March 3, 2011 establishing the guidelines of the CEF for Libyan dinar as approved by the Monetary Board through MB Resolution No. 307 issued on the same date. The Philippine government has earmarked P130 million for the repatriation of about 13,000 OFWs displaced by the conflict in Libya. — JE/KBK/VS, GMA News