Hi Ellene,
To my surprise, hindi ko alam talaga na may maayos na provident components pala ang Pagibig Funds na hindi pwedeng tapatan kahit ng SSS at GSIS. Kaya nga kasama rin ako sa tumuligsa at tumutol sa mandatory membership at gawing requirement sa OEC ng departing OFW's. Pero after the presentation at discussions yesterday with top Pagibig officials, nagbago ang pananaw ko.
Para sa akin mas maraming pakinabang ang OFW sa kanyang Pagibig membership kaysa sa OWWA membership. One classic example is the return of OFW Pagibig contributions plus dividends (all tax free), In OWWA, you wont get anything from your contribution once you ceased paying your membership dues (even after decades of paying your 25 USD). Moreover, Pagibig Fund is guaranteed by the Govt while OWWA Fund is a guaranteed piggy bank by those in the Govt!!!
As far as I know, there is no Bank (private or govt) that can beat the lending rate of Pagibig it gives to its members @ 6% per annum for Half a million pesos or less.
Since Pagibig Fund is flexible, tax free and with govt guarantee, it can even be a very good investment vehicle and Savings mechanism for OFW's. Imagine the reduced risk on members investments compared to buying pre-need plans, mutual funds or bonds from private companies. I have suggested yesterday to look on the possibility of increasing the current rate of return to OFW investments to entice them to save more by parking their money into the Fund.
Getting a loan in Pagibig is also easy and systematic compared to OWWA where you will have to "bleed" before you can get into the Fund. In fact, even getting a financial report of the OWWA Fund has taken us years of waiting without success.
We raised howl and jeers on the 600 pesos kasi nga ay arbitrary ang dating not to mention kulang sa consultation at pagpapaliwanag. I'm sure Daphne, Ka Ronnie and most of our colleagues will find the Pagibig Overseas Program (POP) very helpful to our Sector once they see the complete presentation of the Program.
Dapat lang siguro na magkaroon ng Representative ang OFW Sector sa Board of Trustees ng Pagibig so it can participate in reviewing existing guidelines and policies. Para maiwasan din ang another spurious transaction like that of Globe Asiatique.
Jun S. Aguilar
President & CEO
FMW Group Holdings Inc.
Suites 304 - 305 PARC House II
21 EDSA Guadalupe, Makati City
--- On Thu, 9/23/10, ellene sana <ellenesana@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: ellene sana <ellenesana@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [pinoy-abroad-forum] consultation on pag ibig for ofws
To: pinoy-abroad-forum@yahoogroups.com, "cma" <cmaphils@pldtdsl.net>
Date: Thursday, 23 September, 2010, 7:09 PM
hi all.
yesterday's pag ibig consultations had the following pag ibig officers in attendance:
1. senior vice president alex aguilar, provident operations
2. linda moreno, vice president for pag ibig overseas program
3. amado dizon, manager, overseas operations department
4. ms severa buquid, manager, ofw-members services department
5. ms floriann jacinto, servicing department
6. mr philip salem, information officer for deployment to saudi arabia (soon)
from the migrant groups: cma, ecmi, sla, dawn, pmrw, marino, fmw, and others.
agenda: consultation of pag ibig with migrant groups re implementation and information dissemination on universal coverage of pag ibig under republic act 9679.
UPDATES:
A. Mode of payment: Back to P100 per month but ofw may opt to make advance payments; [this is related to the suspended memo circular of poea 7 which stipulates an advance payment of pag ibig contribution equivalent to 6 months or for the duration of contract, whichever is lower] --so hindi na po mandatory na 6 months, balik sa P100/month at optional na lang kung gustong mag advance payment ng pag ibig contribution.]
B. Pag ibig to forge tie ups with remittance centers (i-remit) to facilitate payments from overseas [dagdag na arrangement po ito para daw po mas maging madali ang pagbabayad ninyo ng pag ibig contributions ninyo]
C. pag ibig membership --is not a pre-requisite to issuance of OEC (hindi po ito katulad ng owwa membership fee o ng enrolment sa compulsory insurance under ra10022 na requisites to the issuance of your overseas employment certificates] .
Discussion of RA 9679.
1. legal basis: ra9679 was passed into law in the 14th congress on july 21, 2009; it took effect august 27, 2009; but implementation started in january 2010 only -- embarked on information campaign first
[please note that the universal or mandatory coverage of pag ibig which now includes OFWs is mandated by law. me batas na po, so ito pong diskusyon at konsultasyon e para sa masinop at epektibong pagpapatupad ng batas. of course, we always have the option of amending the law but in the meantime that the law is not yet amended, then the spirit of the consultation is the effective and smooth implementation of the law. as i said in my earlier postings, hindi po namin nalalaman na me amyenda palang ginawa sa pag ibig. nalaman na lang namin e batas na po ito.]
2. salient features: a) universal (mandatory) coverage -- all employees compulsory covered by SSS, GSIS, those employed by previously-waived companies (that implement a "more" superior benefit package) AND ALL FILIPINOS EMPLOYED BY FOREIGN-BASED EMPLOYERS (i.e. OFWs)
b) tax-exemption -- earnings/ loans/ savings/ benefits from pag ibig are tax exempted. before, pag ibig paid P3B annually in taxes.
c) contribution rate -- P100/mo (minimum, share of employer; no ceiling though in terms of amount the employee wants to contribute)
3. benefits
a. provident:
--multi-purpose loans/ short term loans (on the average P17-18T)
--calamity loans (e.g. ondoy)
b. housing loans -- starting at 6% per annum payable in 30 yrs
c. pag ibig savings (para po kayong nagdeposito sa bangko, with more benefits, at secured po ang pera ninyo kasi government guaranteed) mas marami -- tax free dividend earnings and savings; portable and government guaranteed savings) (grounds for claimings: i) maturity period 15yrs optional (after 180monthly contributions) or ii) 20 yr membership maturity (or 240 monthly contributions); iii) upon reaching 60 yrs old; iv) upon retirement; v) total disability/ insanity; vi) separation froms ervice due to health reasons; vii) permanent departure from philippines (to settle abroad as permanent residents/ immigrants or naturalised citizens); viii) upon death
d. death benefits
4. Pag ibig 2 -- open to all ofw pag ibig members; sabi sa brochure nila, it serves as alternative to educational plans, pension plans and time deposits. higher interest rates, with options for shorter maturity period....
5. membership -- once a member, always a member. basta lang po ilagay ninyo palagi sa transaction ninyo yung registration tracking number (rtn). kung hindi pa member, then you should enrol under the new law.
for more details pls find attached the pag ibig primer.
cma comments to pag ibig:
1. nabigla po ang ofws kasi wala naman kahit anong impormasyon/ konsultasyon sa migrant sector na isinagawa at ipinaabot. basta me memo kaagad na mandatory at advance payment pa! dapat kilalanin ng gobyerno mataas ang level ng mistrust sa kanila ng sektor. maraming mga karanasan ang sektor na kapag nangangailangan na ng serbisyo sa gobyerno e napakakunat at pahirapan pa.
2. ilang mungkahi:
a. harmonize government efforts in info dissemination on government programs and services -- apart from pag ibig, me philhealth pa, owwa, sss, compulsory insurance under ra1002 among so many others na kailangang alam ng ofws -- we suggested na mag ugnayan at mag usap ang ibat ibang ahensya sa pag package ng impormasyon para sa kaalaman ng ofws. makakatipid pa sila, mas buo at malawak ang buong konteksto. at mas magiging masinop.
from pag ibig --nagsimula na nga daw silang mag usap usap.... pati pagtutulungan sa koleksyon at info dissemination sa abroad pinag uusapan na daw nila...
b. cma also suggested that discussions and consultations with pag ibig should include a discussion on labor migration issues anc concerns para alam nila ang sektor. from our end, this is a way to sensitize them on the issues.
c. we also suggested that their information officers deployed in a few countries should aggressively reach out to the filcoms in order to solicit their support and cooperation. makakatulong ang filcoms sa pag papaaabot ng tamang impormasyon sa community. we offered to share with them the contact details of cma partners in areas where they are present (rome, milan, athens, madrid, brunei, hongkong, singapore, taiwan, california, dubai, kuwait, qatar, riyadh, jeddah, al khobar, bahrain, abu dhabi) --of course, cma will seek permission from partners if they will agree to be contacted by the pag ibig information officers.
d. we reminded pag ibig to cooperate also with lgus on information dissemination as the lgus are mandated by ra10022 to engage in pdos and peos.
e. we proposed also that the primer be translated in major dialects too; that they should make available the materials at the airports and pre-departure lounges for distribution to departing filipinos. pero sana, reader/ofw friendly yung material.
in a separate email, we will send you their statement in regard to the asiatique mess story.
all for now. please feedback your questions/ comments/ clarifications so we can sustain the conversation/ consultations with pag ibig.
salamat sa mga nagkomento -- salamat ke chato (italy), fe (holland), kiko (uae), lito and vangie and pusong pinoy (nigeria), daphne (hongkong) at iba pang mga kasama.
ka jun aguilar, pakidagdagan mo itong inisyal kong ulat...
ellene
ellene a. sana
Center for Migrant Advocacy Philippines
72-C Matahimik Street, Teachers' Village
Quezon City, Philippines
Email: cmaphils@pldtdsl.net; URL: www.pinoy-abroad.net
Telefax: +632 4330684; Telephone: +632 920 5003; Cellphone: +63 928 795 2222
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