After almost a year, Duterte fulfills OFW bank promise


President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order converting the Philippine Postal Savings Bank into a bank that will deliver microfinance and micro-insurance products and services for the overseas Filipino workers.

Through Executive Order No. 44, the PPSB will be acquired by the Land Bank of the Philippines and will be converted into the Overseas Filipino Bank.

"Overseas-based Filipinos, who contribute to the country's foreign exchange income, currency stability, employment, and overall economic growth through their remittances should be given provision of priority support for their growing financial needs," the EO read.

“There is a need to establish a policy bank dedicated to provide financial products and services tailored to the requirements of overseas Filipinos, and focused on delivering quality and efficient foreign remittance services,” it added.

EO No. 44 was signed on September 28, almost a year after Duterte made the promise in front of OFWs in Tokyo, Japan.
The OFB will be managed by a nine-member Board of Directors composed of the following:
  •  LBP President as chairperson
  • LBP-designated OFB president as vice chairperson
  • four LBP-designated directors or officers as members
  • one representative each from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the private sector representing overseas Filipinos as members
The EO said members representing the DOLE, the OWWA, and overseas Filipinos will be appointed by the President. —Trisha Macas/KBK, GMA News

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