Rep. Misamis Occidental Rep. Ando Oaminal filed House Bill 2199 which will require government financial institutions to extend “zero interest salary loans” to government employees.
Oaminal stated in the bill’s explanatory note that “despite the fact that government employees are the backbone in ensuring the people’s continued and fast access to public service, their meager remunerations can hardly make both ends meet, and often force these unsung heroes to avail of numerous high interest-bearing loans from both government and private lenders just to provide for their families.”
Oaminal cited the need for Congress to enact a measure that allows eligible government employees “to borrow a zero-interest cash loan (from all government-owned and/or controlled financial institutions) amounting to a maximum of twelve (12) months of their gross salary, payable through salary deductions for the next six (6) years.”
Last month, the Philippines recorded its highest inflation rate since October 2018, with the headline rate topping at 6.1 percent.
Consequently, Oaminal said in his bill’s explanatory note that many Filipino workers have turned to unregulated and unregistered private lenders, who often charge usurious interest rates.
“It’s about time that we give our government employees an opportunity to draw water from the well, without being crippled by debilitating interest charges in their moment of need,” Oaminal stressed.
