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Sunday, March 30, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 169
P25.00 nationwide | 4 sections 20 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
WEAPONIZING REMITTANCES By Butch Fernandez, Samuel P. Medenilla & Reine Juvierre Alberto
R
EMITTANCES from millions of overseas Filipinos (OFs) have long shored up the Philippine economy since the government deliberately laid down a labor-export policy in the Seventies to take advantage of the huge demand for skilled workers. OFWs remittances continue to be the country’s top dollar sources. In 2024, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that their cash remittances rose to $34.49 billion from $33.49 billion in 2023. Total OFW contributions last year
hit $38.3 billion. By any stretch of the imagination, it is an important faucet that could cause problems if closed entirely, or for prolonged periods— as some loyal Duterte supporters among the millions of overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) vowed to do starting with the March 28 birthday of the now-octogenarian former president. The “zero remittance” week until April 4, as the campaign is billed, is in protest of the arrest and transfer to the Netherlands of Rodrigo Roa Duterte to face charges of crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Can weaponizing the OFW dollars to pressure the government for Duterte actually work? Among the first to react when an OFW from Croatia floated the idea of “zero remittance week” was presidential legal counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, thus indirectly fanning apprehension that the campaign could indeed hurt the economy. In a post on social media, En-
rile asked aloud if the OFWs have reckoned with the possibility that the government they are threatening could hit back with sanctions, particularly targeting their tax privileges, such as their travel tax, and documentary stamp tax. “Congress granted these privileges to them by laws enacted by it. I earnestly suggest to our OFWs to study carefully that advice to them before they get burned by it,” Enrile said.
No sanctions
MALACAÑANG, however, said the government will not impose sanctions against OFWs who refuse to send remittances to compel authorities to bring home former President Duterte. “It is the OFWs’ choice whether they send their remittance or not. We will not hinder them in
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A broader look at today’s business
A call by Duterte supporters among migrant workers to stop sending remittances for one week has triggered debates over sanctions. But in the end, it’s just a matter of math and common sense.
THE POWER OF OFW REMITTANCES TOTAL REMITTANCES (2023-2024) n $38.3 billion (2023) $34.49 billion (Jan-Dec 2024, BSP data) n Top remittance sources: US (41.2%), Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UAE, UK n OFWs contribute ~9% of the Philippine GDP WHAT HAPPENS IF REMITTANCES ARE STOPPED FOR A WEEK? n Estimated loss: $800 million (based on 20% participation) n Government reserves: $106 billion (BSP)
whatever they wish,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing on Wednesday. “As I said earlier, we have not taken any legal action because we know OFWs have their own analysis of the events,” she added. The Presidential Communication Office (PCO) undersecretary said she is confident most OFWs will not join such a campaign since
it will be detrimental to their families. She cited the case of OFWs who refused to join a proposed zero remittance campaign in Croatia from March 28 to April 4. “As I said, most of the comments say that they will not participate in such calls because they don’t want their own families to Continued on A2
SUMMER’S FIRST GREAT ESCAPE For some of Candon’s tiniest citizens, the start of summer means a new beginning. City officials, led
by Mayor Eric D. Singson, alongside caretakers, released 74 Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings into the open sea after months of careful nurturing. The hatchlings were collected from seven nesting sites along the town’s coastline, ensuring their safe journey back to the ocean. MAU VICTA
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.5330 n JAPAN 0.3810 n UK 74.5455 n HK 7.3997 n CHINA 7.9225 n SINGAPORE 42.9543 n AUSTRALIA 36.2458 n EU 62.1299 n KOREA 0.0394 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.3393 Source: BSP (March 28, 2025)