OFWs in Hong Kong Hold No Remittance Day

To express their protest against a corrupt government and to support the call for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign, the group United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UniFil)is encouraging overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) not to send money to their families and loved ones in the Philippines every first Sunday of the month.

The group has chosen this day because this is the day when most OFWs in Hong Kong send funds to the Philippines. Along with the call is to resort to other means of sending money or to refrain from sending money through formal channels like banks.

The idea was first proposed when UniFil staged a protest rally at the Philippine Embassy in Hong Kong last Februay 28. This was one day before the huge Makati inter-faith rally for truth

The first schedule for no remittance day was done last March 2 and the next one is set on April 6

The chairperson of Unifil, Dolores Balladares, said, "Our money should not be used to support a most corrupt regime."

Balladares explained that their group do not aim to ban sending of money to the Philippines altogether, but are rather only asking for one day. They believe that even a single day of non-remittance would create an impact in the Philippine economy.

Nevertheless, the move seemed to have failed to present noticeable impact according to most Philippine banks. The regional head for remittance of BDO's Express Padala, Joel Almeda, said their remittance volume for March actually increased compared to the previous year.

Unifil is not about bothered by these findings though and claims that it is be expected, as the call was issued just a few days before the target date.

According to Balladares among the Unifil-Migrante group at least, quite a few members responded to the call. Unifil, together with allied organization Migrante, are hoping many more OFWs will heed their call to observe the no remittance day.POEA News

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