OFWs are often beset with problems that have nothing to do with their jobs overseas. One of them is credit card debt.
In rich countries, getting a credit card is easy. Our kababayan there are almost pushed to avail of the plastic money cards.
Some overseas Filipino workers carry not just one or two cards but five or six, or as many as they can.
But some kabayan apparently don’t know how to handle finances wisely. They buy too much on credit, forgetting that they are going to have to pay for the debts eventually.
Signing receipts with no cash on hand is easy. This is evident from the flashy personal things of many OFWs—like their cellular phones and hip gadgets which always seem new and top-of-the-line.
One of our OFWs recalled that her employer scolded her for buying a cellphone that was more extravagant and expensive than the one she was using.
We also have cases of OFWs scheduled for repatriation but who cannot get clearance because he or she is buried in credit card debts.
One Filipino worker thought that he was well on his way to escaping his debts after he bought a plane ticket home to the Philippines. He was shocked when he was not allowed to check in by an immigration officer because their database showed that our kababayan had a bad record of unpaid credit card debts. They checked him into jail instead.
Susan Andes, a.k.a. Susan K is on board at RADYO INQUIRER 990 DZIQ AM, Monday to Friday, 7:00-8: 30 p.m.
(Audio/video live streaming: www.dziq.am); and at NBN Channel 4, Monday to Friday 10:10 p.m.-11:10 p.m. (Live streaming: www.ptni.tv). Contact Bantay OCW Foundation Operations Center: 631 Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City
Hotlines: 5357209/ 8819423/ 0919.214.0699
E-mail: susankbantayocw@yahoo.com / bantayocwfoundation@yahoo.com