Saudi remittance cap seen hurting economy

Two administration-allied lawmakers on Tuesday chided the government for its anemic job generation program and pressed the Aquino administration for countermeasures to the new policy of Saudi Arabia to impose a cap on the remittances sent by foreign workers including Filipinos.

Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio and Marikina City Rep. Marcelino Teodoro, in separate interviews, stressed the need to create jobs for Filipinos, especially now with the ppressive policies being carried out by host nations and the prevailing political tensions in some parts of the world.

They expressed fear that Saudi Arabia’s policy will hurt the Philippine economy which depends to a large extent on workers’ remittances.

Records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration disclosed that the 1.2 million Filipinos in Saudi Arabia sent home $1.5 billion last year.

“In the long term, the Aquino government should concentrate on developing our domestic economy that will create higher paying jobs,” Tinio said.

Teodoro stressed that local job generation would be the best answer to the new repressive rules abroad.

At the same time, Teodoro said that migrant Filipino workers must be equally given security and safety by Philippine consulates. “The protection and opportunities for our OFWs should be the primary concern of the government to keep the economic stability in the country.”

Tinio, for his part, urged the Departments of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Labor and Employment and Overseas Workers Welfare Office to ask for clarification on the new Saudi policy which may violate the workers’ rights.

He explained that the new policy is unreasonable as it would prevent foreign workers in Saudi Arabia from enjoing the fruits of their labor.

“In the short term, the government should take steps to ensure that the remittance of 1.2 million Filipinos won’t be unduly hampered by the cap,” Tinio said.

Without specifying the cap on the amount of remittance, Saudi Labor Minister Adel Fakieh disclosed in the news website Al-Arabiya that the Saudi government was implementing a “salary protection program” where expatriate workers could send home only a prescribed amount of their salaries.

The Al-Arabiya quoted Fakieh as saying that the millions of Saudi rials being remitted by migrant workers harmed the kingdom’s economy.

Saudi Arabia-based Filipinos came third in terms of the amount of remittances after Canada with remittances of $2 billion and those in the United States, $1.8 billion, the report said.

In 2010, Filipinos around the world remitted a total of $18.76 billion. –Maricel Cruz, Manila Standard Today