OWWA program to teach OFWs, families how to save money

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) expressed hope on Monday that its new financial literacy program would help overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families see the importance of saving money.

At the launch of “Pitaka” (Pinansyal na Talino at Kaalaman) program on Monday, Owwa Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said the financial literacy program would help ensure that OFWs have a “better financial behavior.”

Based on a recent survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), just 35.5 percent of OFWs set aside a portion of their remittances as savings. Of that number, only 5 percent invest their money in financial instruments.

Among OFW families, the survey showed that only 2 percent save.

Cacdac said that one of the reasons why many OFWs and their families failed to save up was their “very helpful culture,” where they shared their resources [with] their loved ones and even friends.

Under the program, a joint project among Owwa, BSP and BDO Foundation, OFWs will attend a two-hour financial literacy session in their mandatory predeparture and postarrival orientation seminars. —Jovic Yee