OFW remittance bumaba sa $4.5B dahil sa COVID-19 pandemic

TINATAYANG bababa ng $4.5 bilyon (P228 bilyon) ang remittance na maipadadala ng mga Overseas Filipino Workers ngayong taon.

Ayon kay ACTS-OFW Coalition of Organizations chairman Aniceto Bertiz III kung hindi nagkaroon ng coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic ay inaasahan na lalaki ng $1.5 bilyon ang ipadadalang remittance sa bansa ngayong taon.

“On account of the severe global economic devastation caused by the pandemic, we now project total remittances to reach only $27 billion this year, or down by $3 billion from $30 billion in 2019, assuming the best possible outcome,” ani Bertiz.

Naramdaman umano ang epekto ng COVID-19 sa mga OFW na nasa larangan ng:

·      Shipping (merchant at cruise operations), shipping-related support services;

·      Aviation and aviation-related support services (kasama ang crewing operations, aircraft maintenance and catering);

·      Travel at tour operations;

·      Hotels, resorts at restaurants;

·      Gaming;

·      Oil, gas and energy exploration and development

“The foreign labor markets for Filipino workers – except for medical professionals and technicians – will shrink considerably this year, as the global economy declines,” saad ng dating kongresista.

Inaasahan din na maaapektuhan ang mga engineers at construction workers sa Middle East dahil sa pagbaba ng presyo ng kurudo na nasa $20-$25/bareles.

Ang Pilipinas ang ikalawa sa pinakamalaking supplier ng licensed ship officers at nangungunang supplier ng unlicensed ship ratings o non-officer crew sa mundo. “The global economic recession will also reduce the demand for Filipinos sailors as shipping traffic sinks,” ani Bertiz.

Umaabot sa 450,000 ang mga Filipino sailors na nagtatrabaho sa ocean-going bulk carriers, container ships, oil, gas, chemical and other product tankers, general cargo ships, pure car carriers at tugboats.

Nanawagan si Bertiz sa gobyerno na tulungan ang mga OFW na nasa ilalim ng “no work, now pay policy” sa ibang bansa.

Noong nakaraang linggo ay sinumulan na ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration na tumanggap ng aplikasyon para sa $200 cash aid sa mga OFW na nasa ibang bansa at walang kinikita dahil sa lockdown.