THE government is not intent on scrapping remittance fees and is instead attempting to create stiff competition among banks and remittance firms to lower the cost of sending money to the Philippines, a central bank official said yesterday.

Iluminada Sicat, director of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) department of economic statistics, said the BSP is taking a “market-based approach” instead of cutting remittance charges to encourage remittance entities to improve remittance channels and services.

“To encourage the continued flow of remittances, our approach is market-based because if we cut charges, we will also cut remittance inflow. Now, if there is sufficient competition, remittance cost will go down. We want to encourage the improvement of remittance channels,” she said in a forum at the Trinity College in Quezon City. 

Migrant organization Migrante International, which hosted the forum, yesterday renewed calls to scrap the collection of remittance fees, which it said is an additional burden to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). IBON Foundation statistics used by the nongovernment organization stated that the government earns $52 million per month from remittance charges and $1.5 billion per month on documentary-stamp (DST) charges.

Sen. Manuel Roxas, who also spoke at the forum, also sought support for Senate Bill 2479, which seeks to exempt OFWs from the 0.15-percent DST imposed in each remittance transaction.

Roxas said that for the $14 billion in remittances which enter the country yearly through official channels, $1 billion go to the government, which is in danger of being used in “anomalous” spending.

Roxas is proposing that if the DST cannot be scrapped, proceeds should be transferred to government agencies taking care of OFW affairs, such as the Department of Labor and the Overseas Worker Welfare Administration.

Sicat said unless the government offers to absorb the remittance cost, there is no way that it can be scrapped.

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Remittance fees, charges to stay

THE government is not intent on scrapping remittance fees and is instead attempting to create stiff competition among banks and remittance firms to lower the cost of sending money to the Philippines, a central bank official said yesterday.

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