MANILA, 18 December 2007 — The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) yesterday approved the reduction of the fee being charged on overseas workers.
OWWA Administrator Marianito Roque said the agency’s Board of Trustees agreed to use the P42 conversion rate for the $25 mandated annual membership fee.
Emerging from an emergency closed-door meeting yesterday in Pasay, Roque said the Board will come out with the resolution tomorrow to spell out how they will go about with the P1,050 instead of the P1,275 fee.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) collects the OWWA membership fee, together with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) coverage of P900 and processing fee of P200.
OWWA has pegged the $25 membership fee to the P51 conversion rate despite the continued decline of the US dollar vis-à-vis the Philippine peso.
The peso-dollar conversion rate yesterday closed at P41.40.
The Board also approved the implementation of the fee reduction “as soon as possible” amid the clamor of OFWs and charges of “overcharging” by lawmakers. Roque earlier announced that it will be on Jan. 1.
Last week, Senate President Manuel Villar filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the continued “overcharging.” Conflicting pronouncements on the membership fees have caused confusion among overseas workers, who have long been clamoring for the scrapping of the fee.
The Board of Trustees, the policy making body of OWWA, is a 12-member body composed of the labor secretary as chairman, the POEA administrator, representatives of the Departments of Budget, Foreign Affairs, the private sector, overseas workers, and placement agencies.
