OWWA exec rules out special $ rate for OFWs

A ranking official of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of having a special foreign exchange rate for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the strengthening of the peso. Deputy Administrator Noreil Devanadera instead proposed that families of OFWs be taught on how to better manage the dollar remittances they receive from abroad. “I think the families should instead be educated in having a change in their lifestyles. The OFW families should learn how to be wise in their expenditures and practice better management of their earnings," Devanadera told reporters during a press briefing at the OWWA reintegration center in Intramuros, Manila. Devanadera, at the same time, noted there are some sectors of the OFWs who are not affected by the peso appreciation. “The foreign exchange will not affect the entire OFWs. There are only certain groups that are affected. These are the domestic helpers and laborers, who are in the $200 (monthly salary) bracket. But those who are earning euros are not affected by the strengthening of the peso," Devanadera said. Earlier, the Bangko Sentral has turned down proposals to fix the peso-dollar exchange rate at P50:$1 for OFWs in order to preserve the purchasing power of the OFW remittances. Devanadera said the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) is looking at some measures to cushion the impact of the depreciation of the dollar. Among the possible assistance the government could extend to the OFWs is financial assistance and skills training to the OFW families who are affected by the rising peso value. “Hindi ako pabor diyan dahil dapat walang special treatment [ang OFWs]. Kasi maski malaki ang dollar, pag hindi ginastos wisely wala lang din effect sa OFW family [ang fixed rate]," said Corazon Atuel, wife of veteran seafarer Eugenio Atuel. Atuel from Central Visayas is one of the 17 families nominated for the Model OFW Family of the Year Award (MOFYA). Last August 1, a group of OFWs employed in Jeddah banded together as V-Team Advocacy and launched an online petition seeking support for the setting up of a fixed exchange rate for OFWs, saying the continued strengthening of the peso has practically reduced by at least 20 percent the value of the remittances OFW families receive. The dollar reached P56 in the early part of 2006. The peso gradually gained strength over the months and is expected to hit below P42 in the days ahead. On Tuesday, the peso closed at P42.12 to a dollar in the currency market. Based on records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) there are over eight million OFWs deployed globally but the bulk of them are in the United States, the Middle East, and Asia. A significant number of them are working as health care professionals in Europe. - Marie Neri, GMANews.TV