ARAB NEWS: SEPT. 15, 2013 OFWs divided over ‘no remittance’ call Filipinos are divided over “Zero Remittance Day” to protest the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) by lawmakers. “The call for OFWs not to remit money to their respective families on Sept. 19 is not timely because by that time, it’s not yet payday so there’s no money to remit,” said Buraidah-based Dionisio B. Tabuco Jr., an engineer and the president of the Association of Filipino Workers in Qassim. Non-government organizations (NGOs) use the PDAF, where senators are allocated 200 million pesos a year and congressmen 70 million pesos a year, to fund their projects. Tabuco questioned the practicality of OFWs abstaining from sending money on that day. “If there’s an emergency on that day, like when a family member has to be rushed to the hospital, an OFW won’t wait until the next day to remit after he has raised the needed money. He would send the money on that very day,” he said. Alex Bello, president of the OFW Congress in Riyadh, agreed, saying that “it’s the height of extremism to call for suspension of remittance.” “We came here for our respective families and now we’re being asked to suspend remittance to them in protest of the alleged irregularities committed by our lawmakers,” he said. He doubted whether OFWs in the Kingdom and other parts of the world would heed the call made by Migrante. “A similar call has been made before, but it did not succeed,” Bello said, adding “it is also unpatriotic to deprive the country of our remittances because of the fault of a few.” “The country needs our remittances to prop up its dollar reserves,” he said. However, Florante M. Catanus of Al Khobar agreed to the “Zero Remittance Call” if it would help in eradicating corruption in the government. “If the call is made to prevent lawmakers from misusing the funds allocated to them under the PDAF, then I support the call for a ‘Zero Remittance Day on Sept. 19,” said Catanus, the previous president of the Saudi Arabia Hiligaynon Inc. (SAHI). Four prominent senators have been allegedly involved in the 10 billion-peso scandal purportedly masterminded by Janet Lim Napoles, who is currently in jail in Santa Rosa, Laguna, south of Manila. These senators include former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon Revilla who is reported to be planning to run for the presidency in the 2016 elections, and Gringo Honasan. Last Thursday, whistle blower Ben Hur Luy testified before the Senate’s Blue Ribbon Committee and mentioned that lawmakers used to visit the alleged mastermind of the PDAF scam Janet Napoles in her office. However, he did not mention names. A group has also filed a plunder charge against Napoles.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 05:52:39 +0000
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