THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), through Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, conveyed its support to House Bill No. 530 or an act creating the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Sovereign Fund.
The bill was authored by Representative Joseph Stephen "Caraps" Paduano of Abang Lingkod Partylist.
Bello relayed DOLE's support to the bill in separate letters dated August 18, 2020, 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 to 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 DOLE secretary also said in the letter.
The measure will also enable OFWs to be involved in nation-building towards the industrialization of the country. The bill is in line with the agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte, as outlined in his July 24, 2017 State of the Nation Address.
Committee members will deliberate on the measure Monday, August 24.
The Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives chaired by Represented Joey Salceda has approved the bill on August 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. The bill also aims to create jobs by raising government funds for industrial, agricultural and infrastructure projects that can employ former OFWs who lost their jobs abroad due to the pandemic.
Recently, Pauano helped put up various quarantine facilities in Negros Occidental, E.B. Magalona town and nearby areas in order for both incoming and outgoing OFWs to have safe places to stay-in while waiting to either go back to their respective homes or to Manila or Cebu for their flights abroad.
Paduano also fought for the mandatory PhilHealth contribution for OFWs and also worked against increasing OFWs' monthly contribution, the implementation of which was later suspended by Duterte.
The OFW Sovereign Fund Bill will be taken up in the Plenary deliberations in the Main Session Hall of the House of Representatives, where Paduano will assist Committee Chairman Raymond Democrito Mendoza of the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs (Cowa) in defending the bill in the second reading.
Paduano thanked Salceda and Mendoza for prioritizing the approval of the bill they also co-authored.
"This is another milestone for the 18th Congress under the able leadership of Speaker Cayetano and Majority Floor Leader Romualdez," he said.
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 the country's 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.
On the proposal of the bill as far as the tax exemption of OFWs, only present and former OFWs are exempted.