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MANILA, Philippines—Filipino workers, including those displaced by the global economic crisis, should think about engaging in livelihood projects and availing themselves of the numerous incentives for small businesses under the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise (BMBE) Act, a moderate labor group said Sunday.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippine (TUCP) called on the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to open a special loan window for returning overseas Filipino workers who may wish to set up small enterprises under the 2002 law.
“This will put a portion of the OWWA’s multibillion-peso welfare fund for OFWs to greater productive use, for the direct benefit of its contributors,” said TUCP secretary general Ernesto Herrera.
According to Herrera, each OFW pays a $25 membership fee to OWWA. Based on an estimated one million Filipinos leaving for overseas jobs each year, he said OWWA collects around $25 million or P1.2 billion from OFWs yearly.
The fees go to a fund that provides benefits, including low-cost loans, to migrant workers and their families in the Philippines.
Herrera said the BMBE Law, or Republic Act No. 9178, grants incentives and privileges to barangay-based micro enterprises with assets of under P3 million.
The law supports the development of small manufacturing, processing, trading and service shops through the grant of lucrative tax advantages as well as gainful non-tax benefits. Jerome Aning
