A proposed measure requiring overseas Filipino workers to undergo ongoing financial education cleared a key legislative hurdle Wednesday after the Senate approved Senate Bill No. 1910 on second reading.
The bill, which covers both land-based and sea-based OFWs — documented or undocumented — also extends to their dependents and family members back home.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo, the measure’s principal author and sponsor, pointed to a persistent pattern of returning workers arriving home with nothing to show for years spent abroad. “Tulad ng iba, when they come back to the Philippines, wala sila kahit na single centavo, bankrupt sila because while they were there, naubos ang pera nila,” he said.
Under the bill, financial literacy training would become a mandatory and continuous component of the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminars that OFWs are required to attend before leaving the country. The curriculum would cover saving, investing, and other strategies for managing and growing earnings while working overseas.
Tulfo was careful to draw a distinction between the measure and direct financial assistance. “Its purpose is to educate our OFWs and their families on how to save money. Hindi po ito ayuda. Ito po ay tulong para mabigyan sila ng education tungkol sa pagse-save ng pera nila while working abroad para pagbalik nila ng Pilipinas ay hindi po sila walang-wala,” he said.
The Senate committee on migrant workers, which Tulfo chairs, backed the bill ahead of its second reading passage.
