OFWS URGED TO HELP THE NATION

National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) Chairman Roy V. Señeres yesterday appealed to the 6 million overseas filipino workers (OFWs) ''to come to the rescue of the motherland in the hour of her greatest economic need.''  The NLRC chief made the appeal as the peso plunged to lowest ebb, now at more than R50 to the American dollar. 

He said that if every OFW sends home to his family at least $1,000 a month, that would amount to $6 billion, a huge amount that could bring down the peso-dollar exchange rate to more manageable leels.  "It is about time the OFWs live up to their name as the country's 'Bagong Bayani' by helping arrest the downtrend of the national economy," Señeres said. 

Señeres appealed to the OFWs to "take the side of our beleaguered motherland," referring to the partisans in the current debate over the so-called jueteng scandal. The former ambassador, who helped save the lives of OFWs Sarah Balabagan and John Aquino, asked the OFWs to send more than their regular monthly remittances early and allow their families to benefit from the current peso-dollar exchange rate. 

"Everybody wins in such a situation," the head of the quasi-judicial body said. 

He said that by sending home their (OFWs') remittances while the dollar's value is high, their families will have more pesos to spend for Christmas. The dollars that will flood the Philippine will help speed up its economic recovery, Señeres said. 

Forex study

Other currencies, including the Euro and the Indonesian rupiah, have fallen more sharply than the Philippine peso against the US dollar during the past year, according to a comparative study conducted by Asiaweek magazine. 

The study showed that the peso fell 18.1 percent in value against the US dollar during the past year.   But the rupiah suffered more, diving by 22.6 percent against the dollar, while the Euro dropped by 21.7 percent.   Even the New Zealand dollar fell by 22.6 percent and the Australian dollar by 18.9 percent, the Asiaweek study showed. 

Earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the peso exchange rate dropped due to the high demand for dollars used for imports and debt payment.  BSP director Diwa Gunigundo also noted that the hike in interest rates in the US prompted many investors to shift their assets from peso-denominated to dollar-denominated ones.