#KAWAWANG OFW is the hashtag of an OFW lament which is going viral on the Internet. It is a cry for help by millions of our countrymen laboring overseas for themselves, their families and the country. They take on all kinds of jobs just to keep up with the trials and hardships of the moment while hoping for a better future. They have been hailed, all ten or so millions of them, whether working on a contractual basis or living permanently in their host countries, as our modern day heroes – mga Bagong Bayani. And rightly so.
By working overseas, they have eased the unemployment problem in the country as we continue to register close to two million new entrants to the labor force annually. The economy has failed to absorb them, year in and year out. In the last administration, the employment terms had to be revised just so the powers-that-be could claim that the scourges of unemployment and under employment were under control.
By working overseas, our OFWs have also been contributing through the banking system, by at least $30 billion annually, making the sector one of the five major foreign exchange generators. And we are just talking here of the remittances captured by the banking system. Add five, maybe even ten billion dollars more, coming into the country through other means and you have a sector which is literally a principal pillar of the economy.
By working overseas, our OFWs have also put the country in the map, gaining the respect of countries far and wide. Save for a few incidents, here and there, our countrymen overseas have been generally appreciated by their host countries. In fact, hailed even more so than in the country. Just recently, the noted British journalist Piers Morgan thanked our health workers on his program over BBC for their courage and excellence in caring for COVID-19 patients while working in the NHS. The German government had to send a special plane to ferry the 75 or so contracted nurses needed in their own specialty health centers. Governments in Europe, the Middle East and even Singapore have all petitioned their Filipino health workers to please stay and continue with their exemplary work. And yet, what do our OFWs get in return from us aside from the usual accolades and lip service?
This is not to suggest that we have been negligent in our duties and insensitive to the plight of our OFWs. From the time lockdowns were imposed all over the world, we have actually repatriated thousands of our workers, quarantined them in respectable quarters (some suggested otherwise, however) and provided a modicum of allowance for them – around $200 each. Not enough, even a pittance for some, specially the ship captains and engineers and head nurses whose salaries are well beyond the usual. But at least we are trying.
But now, in the midst of this pandemic and the increasing woes for our OFWs, many of whom are being laid off – the estimate is some 250,000 OFWs, (many from the cruise ships and other tourism and service industries) will be rendered jobless this year – we are hammering them with this heavy blow from a recently issued PhilHealth Circular by literally taxing them to the ground. The viral thread I am printing below tells it all: the grave injustice and unfairness of a move by a government agency which is supposed to take care of the health and welfare of all Filipinos, including OFWs and their families. And, we are now told, it is not even based on a law. It is merely a circular from the PhilHealth Board chaired by the Secretary of Health. Ano ba yan? Malacanang and Congress have to act on this lamentation fast before we add another crisis in our hands. Here's the full version of that lamentation:
KAWAWANG #OFW
Dating PHILHEALTH CONTRIBUTION P 2,400.00/year
Ngayong 2020 naging 3% ng basic salary capped at P60,000.00 per month or maximum of P 21,600.00 per year.
At tataas annually hanggang maging 5% sa 2025 na ang salary ceiling ay P 100,000.00 kaya 60,000 na ang ambag mo sa Isang taon sa Philhealth.
Mabuti ang employed sa Pilipinas hati ang empleyado at employer sa contribution. Samantalang ang OFW papasanin mong mag isa.
Nasaan ang hustisya sa mga salaried workers. Bakit tayo ang papasan sa hospital bills ng mga pasyenteng hindi naman nagcocontribute sa pondo. Isa pa, tayong mga OFW hindi naman nakikinabang sa Philhealth dahil wala naman tayo sa Pilipinas. Hindi naman babayaran ng Philhealth ang hospital bills natin sa bansang kinaroroonan natin kung maospital tayo. Pangalawa, meron naman tayong health insurance. Mabuti kong ang ating mga pamilya makinabang naman ngunit kailangan ganito kalaki ang ating babayaran?
Ginagawa tayong gatasan ng lintik na mga mambabatas. Bakit di nila bawasan ang pondo ng kanilang mga opisina para ipondo sa Philhealth.
Bakit naipasa ang batas na yan na walang konsultasyon sa mga OFW.
Maganda sana ang layunin ng Universal Health Care Law pero hindi maganda ang paraan ng pagkalap ng pondo.
Ang masaklap pa nito, iinteresan ang di mo nabayarang contribution at may penalty pa. Higit sa lahat di ka bibigyan ng OEC kung hindi ka nakabayad.
Isang "robbery in broad daylight." We are being treated shabbily or shall I say fuc*ed up by our own government. They want to look good as having laid down a law that benefits the Filipino people at our expense."