OFWs free to decide on money remittance – Palace

MANILA, Philippines - Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are free to decide whether or not to remit money to their families in the Philippines.

Malacañang was reacting to yesterday’s “Zero Remittance Day,” where OFWs pledged to give up their remittances to protest the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds by lawmakers. 

“This is a free country. If they choose not to remit, it’s their right not to remit,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

“The decision whether or not to remit rests on each and every OFW,” he added. 

Lacierda said it is not the Aquino government that would be affected, but the families of the OFWs themselves. 

Thousands of OFWs from 23 countries mounted Zero Remittance Day to dramatize their call for the abolition of the pork barrel system.        

Migrante International reported that Filipinos in Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Malaysia, Macau, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea, United Kingdom, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the US have joined the anti-pork global protest.         

“The Zero Remittance Day is a symbolic protest and a political exercise for Filipino migrants from different parts of the world to collectively show their outrage on issues that affect them,” Migrante noted.   

Several OFW groups have warned of a longer no-remittance protest to call for the abolition of the pork barrel system.