Labor chief supports OFW Sovereign Fund bill

By Dolly Yasa

 

BACOLOD City – The Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III supports House Bill No. 530 (An Act Creating the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Sovereign Fund) authored by Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano.

Paduano said Sunday Bello relayed DOLE’s support for the bill in a letter dated Aug 18, 2020 and addressed to House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and House Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

“The DOLE wishes to convey our support for House Bill No. 530… authored by Rep. Paduano, which proposes the raising of funds for government and government assisted projects through the issuance of bonds and other debt instruments for subscription and investment by OFWs, their immediate relatives and other Filipino citizens abroad,” Bello said.

“All OFWs are encouraged to invest part of their income or cash remittances with the government, to be pooled under a special fund to be referred as OFW Sovereign Fund. This will allow OFWs to save some of their income, simultaneously providing them the opportunity to help their country, since the proceeds of the created fund will finance significantly urgent national projects.”

The Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives chaired by Rep. Joey Salceda approved the bill on Aug 17, 2020.

The bill aims to provide a safe investment opportunity for OFWs and their families so that they will no longer be victimized by fake investment schemes which are actually mere scams.

The bill also aims to create jobs by raising government funds for industrial, agricultural and infrastructure projects which may employ former OFWs who lost their jobs abroad due to the pandemic.

The OFW Sovereign Fund Bill will be taken-up in the Plenary deliberations in the Main Session Hall of the House of Representatives where Rep. Paduano will assist Committee Chairman Raymond Democrito Mendoza of the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs (COWA) in defending the bill.

Paduano thanked Chairman Salceda and Chairman Mendoza for prioritizing the approval of the bill they also co-author.

Paduano’s bill aims to create jobs for an estimated one million repatriated OFWs by December 31, 2020 and more by December 31, 2021.

The bill also aims to bring back our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP) to their respective pre-pandemic levels by empowering the government to establish new industries or revive strong cash-generating enterprises.