OFWs rue mandatory remittance of 80% of income By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
F
WORLD » A10
REPORT: ISRAEL CONTROLS OVER 50% OF GAZA, RAZING PALESTINIAN HOMES FOR BUFFER ZONE
ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
ILIPINO seafarers are complaining that the recently passed Magna Carta for Seafarers is requiring them to remit every month 80 percent of their total income back home. Magna Carta for Seafarers, signed last year, was supposed to enhance the protection of Filipino seafarers overseas. The Department of Migrant Workers released the Implementing Rules and Regulations last January 2025. Section 38 of the Magna Carta states that the seafarer is “required to make an allotment which shall be payable once a month to the seafarer’s designated allottee in the Philippines through any authorized Philippine bank...The allotment shall be at least 80 percent of the seafarer’s monthly salary.” A Facebook post by Andrea Barza Aller, a crew of cruise ship Royal Carribean Cruise
Line, has gone viral. Aller addressed the post to Sen. Raffy Tulfo, one of the main sponsors of the Magna Carta for Seafarers. “Ramdam na ramdam dito sa barko naming mga Filipino Seafarers ang lungkot at pagkadismaya dahil sa pinatupad mong New Magna Carta Law of Allotment for Seafarers. “May nakasabay ako kaninang Galley Steward papuntang crew mess at isang Laundry Attendant. Sabi nila ano na lang matira na sahod dito onboard. Pagkasyahin mo sa wi-fi at mga need na bilhin pag mag-shore leave,” she wrote. [Seafarers on our ship are deeply saddened by the New Magna Carta Law of Allotment for Seafarers. I was with a Galley Steward and Laundry Attendant; they said little is left of their income onboard. They still have to pay for wi-fi and other essentials when on shore leave].
Service crew who do not receive tips from customers suffer most, she said. Rinell Banda, founder of Buhay sa Cruise Ship Facebook community, said many seafarers prefer to save their income onboard so that they will not have to pay so much for foreign exchange differentials and remittance cost. “We know that when the dollar is converted in the bank, the amount received by the family is less,” Banda said, in Filipino. “If the recipient of the allotment in the Philippines is a spendthrift, this does not favcor the seafarers who spends all his contract years slaving away to support his family,” he added. Dr. Celerino “Chie” Umandap, Ako OFW Partylist nominee, said the allotees are now elated that they are receiving more remittances this year. But some crew members who are separat-
ed from their spouses or those who are single, feel they are now being robbed by this new provision. “One seafarer I talked to said even his spouse’s boyfriend is benefitting from his money,” he told BusinessMirror. Atty. Dennis Gorecho, head of the seafarers’ division of Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan (SVBB) law firm, was one of those present during congressional hearings when the law was being deliberated on. He said that this provision somehow escaped them. Prior to the implementation of the law, Filipino seafarers remit 80 percent of their basic pay, which does not include their overtime pay and other incentives. However, the Magna Carta’s definition of “wages” now includes “overtime pay, holiday pay, vacation leave pay, premium pay, paid leaves, and 13th month pay, if applicable.”
BusinessMirror
www.businessmirror.com.ph
A broader look at today’s business Tuesday, April 8, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 178
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
PBBM, CABINET TO CRAFT RESPONSE TO TARIFFS n
Malaysia leads Asean response on US tariffs
By Andrea E. San Juan and Samuel P. Medenilla
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will lead the crafting of a government response to the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States, which economists worry could plunge the world into a recession. Palace Press Office Claire Castro said the plan is now in the works days after US President Donald Trump slapped tariffs ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent on goods coming from 180 countries in a bid to boost the manufacturing sector in the US. The 10 percent baseline tariff was implemented last Saturday, while the 11-50 percent tariff will take effect on April 9. Once the said tariffs take effect, imported goods in the US will become more expensive. The economic team will explore all options, including the offer of concessions, as it prepares to negotiate with US officials on the possible reduction in the reciprocal tariff, according to Trade and Industry
By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
M
Secretary Cristina A. Roque. She said the Philippine economic team will meet soon and it is “definitely” looking into seeking a reduction of the additional tariffs recently slapped by the US government on its trading partners. “Yes, definitely. Of course, definitely,” Roque said, adding that the Philippines is expected to be at the negotiating table with the US government soon. “Yes, because actually I already signified the meeting two, three weeks ago with my counterpart in the US. I’m just waiting for the schedule, because everyone wants to meet with him. Especially those who have high tariffs, right? But we’ll talk as in the next few days See “PBBM,” A2
UNCTAD: PHL AMONG TECH READINESS OUTPERFORMERS
B
RAZIL, China, India and the Philippines are developing countries “outperforming” in technology readiness, according to UN Trade and Development’s (Unctad)Technology and Innovation Report 2025. The technology readiness index is “strongly associated” with the generation of scientific knowledge in AI, the report noted. While the Philippines was cited as one of the better performers among developing countries, its ranking in the frontier technologies readiness index rank fell two notches to 60th place in 2024 from 58th place in 2022. The frontier technologies readiness index which gave results for 170 economies, ranking these countries on a scale of 0 to 1, showed the Philippines had a
score of 0.61. Across five pillars under the technology index, these were the Philippines’s rankings: ICT rank, 69th; Skills rank, 107th; R&D rank, 68th; Industry rank, 9th; Finance rank, 75th. According to the Unctad report, some countries perform far better than their levels of income may suggest. “Among developing countries, outperformers are Brazil, China, India and the Philippines; among developed countries, outperformers are the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States,” the Unctad report said. To illustrate, Unctad said there are “correspondingly large differences” in their rankings for GDP per capita and their rankings for the overall index. See “UNCTAD,” A2
A VERTICAL SURGE The symmetrical spread of condominium windows vividly illustrates Metro Manila’s ongoing real-estate boom. Industry analysts attribute this growth to factors such as steady overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances, which totaled $34.49 billion in 2024, and increased investor confidence. Developers are focusing on high-rise residential projects to meet the rising demand for urban living spaces. Additionally, the government’s infrastructure initiatives are encouraging expansion into areas beyond the National Capital Region, fostering the development of integrated communities and transit-oriented projects. This trend reflects a shift from pandemic recovery to sustained economic expansion in the property sector. NONIE REYES
ALAYSIA is spearheading the collective response of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on the reciprocal tariffs that the United States has started imposing on their exports. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that on Friday, he had phone calls with the Asean leaders, including Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. He said he exchanged views with the Asean leaders to “coordinate a collective response to the issue of reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States.” Malaysia is the chair of the Asean Standing Committee this year. “As the Chair of Asean, Malaysia remains committed to fostering consensus among member states and upholding the principles of fairness and equity in all trade negotiations, including in Asean-US dialogue frameworks,” Ibrahim said in his post in X. US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said he has spoken with Vietnamese leader To Lam. Trump said he was assured that by the Vietnamese leader that Vietnam is willing to bring down the tariffs to zero if they can come to an agreement that tariffs. Economic ministers of Asean will meet this week to continue deliberations on this issue and “seek the best possible solution for all member countries,” he added. Unlike China, the US has no free trade agreement with Asean as a bloc. It only has the Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement which recognizes that the “reduction of related barriers and fostering of an open and predictable environment for trade and investment” can promote growth and development. The US and all the 10 Asean countries traded goods worth US$476.8 billion in 2024. The trade deficit was in favor of Asean at US$227.7 billion, which is an 11.6-percent increase over 2023, according to the data by the US Trade Representative. On Wednesday, Trump announced the imposition of “reciprocal tariffs” over imported goods to America starting April 9. Asean countries were not spared: Cambodia - 49% Laos - 48% Myanmar - 45% Vietnam - 46% Thailand - 37% Indonesia - 32% Brunei - 24% Malaysia - 24% Philippines - 17% Singapore - 10%
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.8520 n JAPAN 0.3905 n UK 73.0378 n HK 7.3125 n CHINA 7.8222 n SINGAPORE 42.2534 n AUSTRALIA 34.1339 n EU 62.0767 n KOREA 0.0390 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.1508 Source: BSP (April 7, 2025)