In the year 2013, demands for financial support or non-support cases involving overseas Filipino workers made up the bulk of issues handled by Bantay OCW.
Almost every day, we received complaints from wives of OFWs. Either the husband reduced the amount of remittances, failed to send or was not sending regularly anticipated financial support or, worse, deliberately abandoned his domestic obligation.
An OFW, which is the subject of such complaints, offers many alibis. But the real reason is often that they are having an affair abroad. He may even have a second family, which is why the family here receives less money than usual or the financial support ends.
It would be helpful if wives left behind have jobs. But most of these women only depend on monthly remittances from their OFW husbands.
Many have to beg for support from their spouses. Some even accept their husband’s affairs or their having other families abroad, as long as regular financial support is guaranteed.
A wife of an OFW visited our Bantay OCW program to complain about her husband who was, coincidentally, back in the country for a vacation. She already knew that her husband was having an affair in Qatar.
All she wanted was for him to assure her and their children of financial support. They have three children who are still in school. They also have to pay monthly amortization on a house. The wife is unemployed.
When the husband learned about the complaint, he wanted to talk to his wife in front of us, using the Bantay OCW program to settle the problem before he returned to Qatar.
We gave them enough time to talk face to face at the Inquirer Radio studio in Makati City.
As the main issue was financial support, Bantay OCW asked for a list
of family expenses from the wife. We repeatedly asked for the list, but she said she had not prepared one, so had nothing to show.
Bantay OCW taught the wife how to make a list and it became the legal basis for her request for monthly financial support from the husband.
The couple agreed on an amount based on the total expenses. The OFW was automatically allocated 20 percent as saving from his earnings and was happy to accept the arrangement.
After signing the agreement, husband and wife thanked Bantay OCW for saving them time and money by resolving their conflict out of court.
Bantay OCW encouraged the wife to work or start a small business to have more money for her growing children.
To the wives of OFWs, this story emphasizes the importance of making a monthly list as a basis for demanding financial support.
A list will make it easy for OFWs to provide monthly support, since that is precisely the reason why they work overseas—to give their families a better future.
Spouses of our OFWs should start making a list and make proper spending and budgeting part of their daily activities.
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Susan Andes a.k.a Susan K., heads the Bantay OCW Foundation and can be heard on Radyo Inquirer dzIQ 990 AM, Monday to Friday, 10:30-12 a.m. Audio-video live streaming: www.dziq.
am. Helplines: 0927-6499870 / 0920-9684700 E-mail: bantayocwfoundation@yahoo.com /susankbantayocw@yahoo.com