For overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) the recently signed HDMF Law of 2009 which expands the membership coverage of the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) starting January 2010 is a good way to allow them to invest for the future. But for others who don’t accept the new terms and refuse to pay their contributions, there is uncertainty as to what legal implications OFWs will be subjected to if they refuse to make the contribution.
The Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF or Pag-IBIG) disclosed recently that Republic Act 9679 (or the Home Development Mutual Fund Law of 2009) providing for the expansion of its mandatory coverage to include Filipino workers from formal and informal sectors here and abroad, has taken effect last month. By paying the P100 monthly contribution, members can benefit from savings, short-term loans and housing loans the fund provides.
Vice President Manuel De Castro cited the positive response of OFWs to the expanded mandatory membership coverage, which was evident in the hundreds of Filipino workers in Hong Kong who trooped to register at iRemit centers and the Philippine Consulate General where Pag-IBIG Fund’s information desk is located.
However, the enthusiasm expressed by Hong Kong OFWs is not the same in the Middle East. John Leonard Monterona, an OFW who also acts as regional coordinator of Filipino migrants in the Middle East said that the mandatory coverage of OFWs is no more needed as it will just burden the overseas workers. He added that on Love (February) month, the administration does not offer a slightest fraction of Pag-IBIG (love) to OFWs and families.
The monthly contribution of P100 may be just a fraction of what OFWs receive from their monthly paycheck, but if the proceeds of this fund may not be clear enough for OFWs to understand, it’s not surprising to hear people refusing to pay this “mandatory” contribution. Pag-IBIG Fund Vice President for Public Relations and Information Services Group Margie Jorillo confirmed that Pag-IBIG has no legal authority to go after workers who refuse to make a contribution.
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