House approves discounts on OFW remittances

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has passed on final reading a measure providing discounts on remittance fees that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) pay when sending money to their families.

The lower chamber voted 224 with no abstention to approve House Bill No. 7951, or the Overseas Filipino Workers Remittance Protection Act, on third and final reading.

Under the bill, banks and nonbank financial intermediaries may impose fees for remittances subject to a 50-percent discount. But banks may also claim the discounts as a “tax deduction,” to be treated as an ordinary and necessary expense deductible from their gross income.

The measure also prohibits banks and nonbank financial intermediaries offering remittance services from raising their current remittance fees without prior consultation with the Department of Finance, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. —JULIE M. AURELIO