Migrante calls for remittance boycott vs. 'con-ass'

資料日期: 
2009/06/10

MANILA, Philippines - A migrant advocacy group urged overseas Filipinos to stop sending money home every month to protest the decision of Congress to convene as a constituent assembly (con-ass) that will amend the Philippine Constitution.

Migrante International’s Middle East chapter said it has mobilized its members for two separate rallies on Wednesday and on June 17, where they will voice out their opposition to con-ass.

“Our campaign is a legitimate political act of OFWs and their families not just against ‘Cha-cha’ but also manifests our strong condemnation against the gross negligence committed by the most anti-OFW administration," said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator.

In Hong Kong, the local Migrante chapter said OFWs and their families should not support members of the House of Representatives who voted for the controversial con-ass resolution, should they decide to run in the 2010 polls.

“We’ll aggressively promote among our families and friends in the Philippines not to vote for you because you allowed yourselves to be puppets of the criminal government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo," said Unifil-Migrante chair Dolores Balladares.

“The people’s voice must prevail and not Arroyo’s," she added.

Two other migrant groups in South Korea and New Zealand have vowed to support the "No Remittance Day" campaign.

But the government and recruitment sector downplayed the migrant groups’ threat to halt the Philippine economy’s lifeblood.

Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration chief Rosalinda Baldoz doubted if a No Remittance Day would work, saying that many OFWs prioritize their families more than any political concern in the country.

“The OFW families will suffer if they won’t remit even for a day, so I guess it won’t succeed. It never has," Baldoz told GMANews.TV in an interview.

Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani also doubted whether the remittance boycott migrant will make any dent on the economy.

“These groups are just drumming up publicity," Geslani said. “Migrante, for instance, has a small number of members overseas. I doubt if they will stop remitting just because the group says so."

Money sent home by Filipinos working abroad during the first quarter of this year improved by 2.98 percent to $4.06 billion from $3.95 billion as sea-based and land-based workers sent more cash home, BSP governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said earlier.

In March alone, remittance hit a record high of $1.43 billion despite the deepening recession in key markets, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. [See: Remittances hit record high in March, BSP says]

The remittance hike was also boosted by wider access to expanded money transfer services by overseas Filipino workers and their beneficiaries.

Last October, migrant groups called for a similar campaign to protest Manila’s hosting of the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development. The rate of remittance on the day of the protest was barely affected despite the campaign abroad. Joseph Holandes Ubalde, GMANews.TV

UP IN THE AIR. Migrant groups are urging overseas Filipinos to stop remitting money if the con-ass convenes, but many doubt if OFWs will heed the appeal. GMANews.TV file photo

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