Solon seeks mitigating measures on surging peso

Alarmed over the shrinking value of dollar earnings of overseas Filipino workers, Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño on Tuesday urged the House committee on economic affairs to come up with measures that will help mitigate the negative effects of a surging peso.
In House Resolution 383, Casiño said from January 2007 the peso has increased by 18.6 percent against the US dollar, noting that the local currency continued to gain strength.

Quoting a study done by OFW group Migrante International, the party-list congressman said the weak dollar has led to a 20 percent drop in the value of monthly remittances from overseas Pinoys. He added that the country’s export industry is also taking the brunt of a strong peso.

Independent think-tank IBON Foundation said OFW households could lose P3,710 per month if the peso hits the 38:$1 level before the end of the year.

IBON said the roughly 15% increase in OFW remittances in 2007 compared to the past year was not enough to offset the 16% peso appreciation from January to December 2007.

IBON estimates that OFWs lose roughly P700 per $100 remittance.


From January to December 2007, the exchange rate of the peso to the dollar has strengthened by almost fifteen percent. This means that over the period, the family of an OFW who remitted $100 in January was able to exchange it for P4,891. By December this had fallen to P4,174 or a decline of P717.


"Overseas workers were forced to tighten their belts and remit more of their income to make up for the lost value," said IBON research head Sonny Africa. ABSCBN News

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