Exporters buck government plan to issue bonds for OFWs

MANILA, Philippines – Exporters expressed dismay yesterday over the plan of the government to issue bonds specifically for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

In an interview, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) president Sergio Ortiz-Luis said that the bond will not really benefit OFWs but people who have savings.

“They are just using the OFWs. We don’t believe that their target are OFWs,” Ortiz-Luis said.

He explained that the bond issue, which is scheduled in April, will make the peso stronger against the dollar. This means that the dollars earned by OFWs will now have a lesser value given the low exchange rate.

“It would be like shooting themselves on the foot. Why would they sacrifice their earnings for a very small interest,” Ortiz-Luis said.

“If the peso is strong, then the money earned by OFWs when converted to peso will be smaller when compared to the value of their overseas income when the exchange rate is high,” Ortiz-Luis added.

“I think they are just using the name OFW bond to make it sound better but if you ask the OFWs if they will avail most of them will say no,” Ortiz-Luis said.

He said that the money of OFWs is mainly used to purchase everyday needs. He said OFW money fuel consumer spending. This means that it does not go into savings, investments or even bond buying.

Earlier, the Treasury Department said they can sell up to $500 million of dollar and euro-denominated debt to OFWs. In January, the government has sold $1.5 billion worth of global bonds and $1.1 billion worth of Samurai bonds in February. –Ma. Elisa P. Osorio (The Philippine Star)