Dubai: The proposal to make remittances mandatory for Filipinos is not the only piece of legislation to impact Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
All OFWs are mandated by Philippine laws to be members of the Home Development Mutual Fund with a monthly contribution of 100 pesos (Dh10) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) with an annual premium of 2,400 pesos. PhilHealth’s annual premium was increased by 167 per cent in 2013.
Last month, Filipino rights group Migrante-UAE denounced these government-sanctioned services that require mandatory membership and payment from Filipinos, particularly PhilHealth, because they already have insurance cover here in the UAE.
Nhel Morona of Migrante-UAE told Gulf News the new draft law mirrors the Executive Order issued by then dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1982 forcing all OFWs to regularly financially support their legal dependants in the Philippines.
