Good news for overseas Filipino workers

On orders of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Board of Trustees chaired by Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion has officially adjusted the 25 dollars per-contract membership fee collected from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to P42 per US dollar effective Dec. 18, 2007.

In a report to the President, Brion said that per Resolution No. 38 signed Dec. 17, 2007, the Board reached a consensus that the peso-dollar exchange developments require such adjustments in the rate of exchange of membership fees paid from Jan. 1, 2007 to Dec. 18, 2007.

"The excess payments made to OWWA this year prior to the implementation of this order, based on a P51-1 dollar exchange rate shall be credited to the name of the member OFW," Brion told the President.

"It means that a Credit Memorandum shall be issued in their names that entitles them to an extended OWWA membership coverage for a period of three months beyond the two years or the 24 months entitlement to OWWA programs and services," he added.

The Labor Chief further said that the concerned OWWA members will be notified immediately in writing and the Credit Memorandum shall be issued accordingly.

The Board convened last Dec. 17 amid some protests on the alleged overcharged because of the fees based on an exchange rate of P51 to the dollar.

In resolving the issue, the Board cited previous issuances pertaining to the collection of OWWA contribution fees, the latest of which was the Memorandum of Instruction (MOI) No. 018 issued on Dec. 4, 2001 by then OWWA Administrator Wilhelm Soriano.

Section IV of the MOI provides that "the amount of contribution shall be 25 US dollars per contract per person and payments maybe made in US dollars of its peso equivalent. For peso payments, the exchange rate shall be the conversion rate applicable at the date of payment, as determined and pursuant to a previous agreement with the sea-based and land-based sectors, embodied in the OWWA MOI No. 104, series of 1991. On-site payments maybe made in US dollars or the local equivalent currency based on the prevailing exchange rate thereat."

Brion said that the Board agreed that the reference exchange rate for peso payment at the beginning of each month shall be the average dollar/peso exchange rate of the immediately preceding month as determined by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

He further said that on-site payments may be made in the local currency of the worksite country and the reference exchange rate at the beginning of each month shall also be the average local currency/dollar exchange rate of the immediately preceding month.

"Unless there are exchange constraints previously brought to the attention of and recognized as an exception by the OWWA Administrator, collection in the currency shall be receipted to the paying OFW and remitted to OWWA Manila in the local currency," Brion said.

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