Overseas Filipino Workers or OFW is the term pertaining to Filipinos who live or work abroad for a temporary period of time, most probably under a contractual basis. They are those Filipinos who chose to work abroad who give a higher range of salary in order to provide a better life for their family.
Philippine Overseas Filipino Workers are known for being great and efficient workers abroad. Employers from various countries are hoping to have their employees from the Philippines. Filipino workers are very dedicated when it comes to their work, either in the Philippines or outside the country.
Leaving their family and taking risks abroad is not an easy decision for anyone else, most particularly the Overseas Filipino Workers. Either a first-time OFW or a long-term OFW, these scenarios wouldn’t be ideal. Unfortunately, greater opportunities and salaries are way available and offered outside the country, thus will guarantee a more financially-stable life for their family.
Noting that Overseas Filipino Workers are about to work outside the Philippines, the risk of safety and security is also at stake. Working abroad doesn’t mean an instant good life. It is about taking risks and chances first and then hoping for better and good employers to look after you, your safety and security, and your efficiency as a worker.
Good and bad luck are also neither possible nor inevitable to Philippine Overseas Filipino Workers.
Last 2020, five hundred sixty thousand (560,000) OFW were deployed. With this number, the reported cases of maltreatment of Overseas Filipino Workers were nearly five thousand (5000). Four thousand three hundred two (4,302) cases of these came from the Middle East.
Contrary to this, there are also OFWs who are able to give and built their own houses, business, and investments. There are still OFWs who are able to have foreign employers who treat them as a family and as a person.
It is a blessing to have an employer who values you as a person and treats you like one. This makes OFWs be more dedicated and feel at ease with such respect to their employers and to the opportunity that was given to them.
All Overseas Filipino Workers hope to have good employers. All of them dream to give a better life to their family, and soon enough won’t make them choose to go abroad again. They risk their lives and their future is at stake, yet they bravely conquer this for the sake of love for their family.
Therefore, makes them modern heroes of the country.
In the bigger picture of being an OFW, they tend not just to help their own family but also to help the country’s economy.
They serve as the Philippine economy’s lifeline as they have saved the economy through their remittances that contribute to about nine percent (9%) of the Philippines ’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Remittances are inflows of short-term employee income transfers or personal remittances from migrants.
As the pandemic happened in 2020, the domestic growth still stands through the inflows contributed by the Overseas Filipino Workers. In the year 2021, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the cash remittances from OFW garnered 5.1 percent year-on-year last August to USD2.609 billion and a 5.7 percent increase to USD20.38 billion in the first eight months of 2021.
As of the latest news, Philippine Overseas Filipino Workers set a record of about $31.4 billion in remittances in 2021 that backs up the country’s economy amidst the pandemic.
With these figures, it can be seen that the remittances to the Philippines from OFWs don’t just benefit their family, but also the country’s economy.
These remittances are being transferred to remittance centers.
These remittance centers are the financial service providers which allow or help people to send or receive money domestically or internationally. Without worrying about having no bank accounts, these companies provide a traditional way of money transfer.
Remittance centers mostly cater to remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers who send money back to their family.
Philippines’ Remittance Centers available in the country
Western Union Sulit Padala and Overseas Money Transfer
Western Union has over 8,400 branches in the Philippines and has 500,000 agent locations in over 200 countries. One of their notable features is their Track a Transfer feature. This enables their customers to track the status of their remittances online.
M Lhuillier Kwarta Padala
They have over 2,000 ML Kwarta Padala branches in the country while they have almost 100 overseas partner agents worldwide.
Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala
Cebuana Lhuillier has nearly 2, 500 branches and 4,000 Pera Padala Agents in the Philippines. They also have over 80 international remittance partners worldwide.
RD Pawnshop
Its core business is its pawning service, yet it adapted its capacity and ability to cater to money transfer services due to its big demand. They cater to both local and international cash remittances with competitive rates.
Moneygram
Moneygram has 350,000 agent locations internationally with its innovative mobile and online platform. It caters to cash transfers, online, bank-to-bank accounts, agents, and international money orders.
Things to Consider in Choosing Your Trusted Remittance Center
Reliability of the Company
You should make sure that the company who handles it is reliable. It is better to research and look for their track record when it comes to remittance or money transfer.
The convenience of Money Transfer or Remittance
Everyone has their own responsibilities to take part in. Thus, look for remittance centers that give a better or an all-out convenience when it comes to transferring or sending, or receiving money such as online or mobile transactions.
Rates
Look for remittance centers that let you save money through their low-service fee. Find a remittance center that doesn’t require fees on the receiver’s end.
Transaction and Time-Efficiency
It is also a big factor for a remittance center to have a fast money transaction. It is good to know how many minutes or hours it would take for the receiver to receive your money. Time is precious as they say.
Good Customer Service
It is essential that the remittance center you will choose has good and accommodating customer service. Sudden problems with the money remittance or money transfer should be catered to as soon as possible. Therefore, look for remittance centers that value your concerns as much as you value your money.
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