Pangilinan wants better benefits for OFWs
Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan on Monday filed a proposed measure seeking to provide better benefits for overseas Filipino workers as he urged the government to map out long-term programs that would lure the migrant workers to invest and stay in the Philippines.
"Given a choice, I don't think anyone would want to be separated from his/her loved ones. We are therefore pushing for incentives and benefits for our overseas Filipinos, to make it more viable for them to invest and engage in business here in the Philippines and make their savings work for them and their loved ones," he said.
In filing Senate Bill No. 1254 or the Overseas Filipino Investment Bill, Pangilinan intends to encourage the OFWs to save, invest and engage in business here in the country.
Pangilinan also predicted that his bill, if becomes law, would help strengthen the Philippine economy.
"With an estimated $ 8 billion worth of remittances every year from OFWs, there's a market that can be tapped to ensure that Filipinos abroad will have the chance to be reunited with their families," he explained.
Under the bill, the OFWs may apply for certification from the Philippine Overseas and Employment Agency, the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration (OWWA) or the Department of Foreign Affairs, to avail of savings and risk-free investment facilities, enjoy preferential benefits and privileges in availing funds from government financial institutions (such as the Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, etc.), apply for tax exemptions, and tap Local Government Units for assistance, among others.As Pangilinan filed the proposed measure, he has also called on the DFA to swiftly intervene in the case's resolution of the 27-year-old Filipina who was found dead recently at the basement of her employer's house in Canada.
"It is disheartening, not to say sickening, how not a few hardworking Filipinos overseas meet this kind of fate, and that Philippine officials can only step in for them when, evidently, it is too late," he said.
Police found the lifeless body of Jocelyn Dunluan last October 1, apparently murdered at the Doulton Place mansion, a posh home in Mississauga City.
"The government should stop encouraging Filipinos to find work abroad. Instead, the government should think of long-term solutions such as creating more jobs and providing investment opportunities," Pangilinan said.
-ofw.balita.ph
"Given a choice, I don't think anyone would want to be separated from his/her loved ones. We are therefore pushing for incentives and benefits for our overseas Filipinos, to make it more viable for them to invest and engage in business here in the Philippines and make their savings work for them and their loved ones," he said.
In filing Senate Bill No. 1254 or the Overseas Filipino Investment Bill, Pangilinan intends to encourage the OFWs to save, invest and engage in business here in the country.
Pangilinan also predicted that his bill, if becomes law, would help strengthen the Philippine economy.
"With an estimated $ 8 billion worth of remittances every year from OFWs, there's a market that can be tapped to ensure that Filipinos abroad will have the chance to be reunited with their families," he explained.
Under the bill, the OFWs may apply for certification from the Philippine Overseas and Employment Agency, the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration (OWWA) or the Department of Foreign Affairs, to avail of savings and risk-free investment facilities, enjoy preferential benefits and privileges in availing funds from government financial institutions (such as the Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, etc.), apply for tax exemptions, and tap Local Government Units for assistance, among others.As Pangilinan filed the proposed measure, he has also called on the DFA to swiftly intervene in the case's resolution of the 27-year-old Filipina who was found dead recently at the basement of her employer's house in Canada.
"It is disheartening, not to say sickening, how not a few hardworking Filipinos overseas meet this kind of fate, and that Philippine officials can only step in for them when, evidently, it is too late," he said.
Police found the lifeless body of Jocelyn Dunluan last October 1, apparently murdered at the Doulton Place mansion, a posh home in Mississauga City.
"The government should stop encouraging Filipinos to find work abroad. Instead, the government should think of long-term solutions such as creating more jobs and providing investment opportunities," Pangilinan said.
-ofw.balita.ph
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