OWWA & POEA Boards Now Open For OFW Nominations

May mga magagandang balita po ngayon para sa ating mga makabayang OFW! Sa wakas, our OWWA and POEA, for the first time, are now accepting nominations for OFWs or OFW representatives to become part of their respective Board of Trustees, in compliance with the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act.

At least 3 representatives of OFWs shall sit as part of the respective governing board of OWWA and POEA, and these representatives shall come from the land-based sector, sea-based sector, and the women OFW sector.

Suriin niyo land po ng maigi na hindi mga dummy ng mga politiko ang maiupo dahil baka gamitin lang po ang kanilang pwesto para maikampanya ang politiko overseas pagdating ng 2016! I encourage our OFWs na makialam po kayo dahil ginawa ang batas at hakbang na ito para lang po sa kapakanan ng OFWs at nawa maging ganoon nga po dapat ang maisakatuparan. I am not imputting anything on anybody here, I am just encouraging everyone to be wise, be vigilant and be cautious to ensure that indeed this time POEA and OWWA will indeed serve to promote, enhance and protect the welfare of the OFWs. Dahil dati inubos po halos ang $25 contribution po ninyo sa OWWA noong ginamit ng nakaraang nakaupo para pondohan ang libreng Philhealth na pinamudmod sa mga bayan-bayan upang maisulong ang kanyang kandidatura.

The Nominee must be at least 25 years old, able to read and write, and a real migrant worker at the time of nomination OR with at least 3 years actual experience as a migrant worker. Representatives for the 3 sectors may be nominated only by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) which have an outstanding history in the protection and promotion of the welfare of our OFWs.

To qualify, these nominating NGOs must be registered with the appropriate government agency and should be certified by that agency as "of good standing" and these NGOs must represent either the land-based, sea-based, and women sectors for at least 3 years prior to the submission of their nominee.

The OWWA and POEA shall separately come up with a final list of nominees, with 3 nominees for each sector (land-based, sea-based and women sectors) and the same shall be submitted to the President for consideration and the same shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation.

Once the names are published I encourage our OFWs to voice their opinions about the nominees through the President's website and other popular online discussion boards just to make sure that we are heard by the President, and he will be guided with his choice because the President will have to select and appoint 1 representative for each 3 sectors to become part of the governing boards of OWWA and POEA 30 days after the submission of the list of nominees. The appointed new members of the Boards shall have a term of 3 years, and will be eligible for reappointment for another 3 years if their records serves the OFWs.

So mga mahal kong mga makabayang OFWs I encourage you to actively participate in this process, bago po ito, and this is now your most opportune time to shine and be heard and be well-represented. Mabuhay po Kayo and God bless you!

For further reference, please see the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations here and also the related news. For further reference, please check the POEA and OWWA websites.

OTHER RELATED TOPICS:

• OFW Remittances Have Soared Past The $17B Mark As of Nov 2010 - BSP 

• The OFWs Now Becoming An Economic Powerhouse

• Creative Business Ideas Of OFWs

OFW Remittances Have Soared Past The $17B Mark As of Nov 2010 - BSP

The $17B OFW remittance from Jan-Nov 2010 is around P748-B! It's a very big amount infused to our local economy. (See Source).

If only our OFWs can make it a habit to save just one percent (1%) of whatever money they earn abroad, which is equivalent to P7.48B, they can very easily put up a big OFW BANK (commercial bank) just from their 1% savings! The minimum required cash capital to put up a commercial bank is only around P3-B compared to their 1% savings of P7.48B!

Halimbawa lang po: Kung ang karamihan ng OFW ay kumikita ng average of P30,000 a month, ang 1% savings po ay halagang P300 lamang o kaya P150 sa akinse at P150 sa katapusan. Mas malaki pa po ang ginagastos ng kanilang mga anak sa Pinas sa load ng celfon o kaya panglaro sa online games na iba ang nakikinabang, yung mga dati nang mayayamang malalaking negosyante. Bakit hindi po natin gamitin yun para sa inyong kapakanan this time which will bring long-term economic & financial benefits to you and your loved ones.

Pag 2% ng kanilang kinikita ay itatabi aba that's around P15-B in just one year. E ang BDO ang CASH ASSET po nila noong end of 2009 ay nasa P32 Billion lang po, ibig sabihin kung magtabi lang ang OFWs ng 4% ng kanilang kinita sa buong taon that's P30 Billion at katapat niyo na po kaagad ang BDO, sa isang taong pagtitipid lang po yan. E lalo na po pag ginawa nyo pong regular habit na yan taon-taon naku po mauungusan na po ninyo ang BDO. See http://www.bdo.com.ph/aboutus-... for reference.

Tunay na maging dakila ang mga OFW po natin kapag nagmamay-ari na po sila ng OFW BANK. Ganito po ang layunin ng mga kababayang OFW po natin na nagtutulungang paitaguyod ang pagtayo ng OFW BANK. Patuloy po nating itaguyod ang ganito pong layunin upang mapaangat ang kalagayan at kapakanan ng mga OFW. Mabuhay po kayo.

Maaaring may mga nagdududa po at nag-iisip na baka raket lang po ito, kaya yun po ang iniiwasan natin na maging kaisipan ng mga kababayan natin kaya po we don't encourage any collection or contribution of anything, we do everything voluntarily because I believe that if God has blessed this idea, God will use many people, events and circumstances to make this dream a reality.What we encourage here is for our OFWs to start make saving money a habit. 

Never dream for an OFW BANK if you cannot even learn to save just 1%, 2% or 5% of your income. It takes some kind of self-discipline and determination. Kailangan po minsan marunong tayong tumangging pondohan ang luho ng ating mga anak kung tayo po ay seryoso sa ating pagnanais na mapaunlad ang kanilang buhay at kinabukasan, at upang mas maagang makauwi "for good" ang ating OFWs.

Mabuhay po ang ating OFWs!

RELEVANT ARTICLES HERE:

• Save Money By Watching Out Your Spending Habit First! 

• How Can We Put Up The P3B Fund For An OFW Bank?

• How To Make The OFWs An Economic Powerhouse?

• Creative Business Ideas And Reactions Generated By The GMA News About The P1-billion Loan Program For OFWs

• OWWA & POEA Boards Now Open For OFW Nominations

Recent Emails Received Through The OFW BANK Incubator Blog

Over the week, may mga natanggap po akong mga email sa pamamagitan po ng ating blogsite using the email address "makabayangpilipino143@yahoo.com", and let me publish them here to keep you abreast of these developments.

I have tried to "hide" their personal details to keep their privacy, unless they will advise me to the contrary. Their emails are as follows:

From DONVERCAS, an electrical/instrumentation instructor and Oil & Gas Operation/maintenance Consultant:

“I was deeply touched with the makabayan ideas of yours and I hope this will happen soonest the better to have OFWBank that all over the world OFW will contribute mabuhay ka makabayangpilipino.

To be exact 30 years na akong OFW and I had a lot of ideas want to share with as well for the benefit of mankind. Regards and thank you.”

From DARYL of qdvc.com:

“sali ako dyan when do we start”

From Michelle Stone of pho_art:

“Hi there!!! Just want to register to receive “newsletters” if possible…Thanks a lot & God bless!!!”

From Andy P. of a known bank in New Zealand:

“Manigong Bagong Taon sa iyo, sa iyong pamilya at sa wider community na iyong kinapapalooban!

I’ll focus on clarifying your requirements.  Basically, the site would be some sort of a forum/blog website with a touch of a social-media network engine (ala facebook).    Some of the system/applications that would be built unto the site resembles that of a “virtual bank” where members would make deposit and withdrawal so as to mimic the updates on their actual savings or pledged capitals.   All updates by its members are gathered real-time by the system and then publish the updates on a graphical form (something like a stakeholder report or financial statement).   I could see the big picture and we could come up with that kind of web application.   Though, there may be some technical limitations if hosted on a free site domain such as blogspot or twitter.   A work-around is to host the other applications in some other domain sites and integrate it via URL on the main forum site and blog site.   I’ve now started to integrate a forum unto a blog site in one of the free domains and hopefully be able to present it to you in the coming weeks.

As for my suggestions on the site building, we could also incorporate an auto-email subscription facility such that all members will be sent an email on regular updates, monthly report and forum topics.   This will somehow encourage the members to get involved in the process and promote the site to their friends and relatives.   The forum application could facilitate posting from its members either via online or via email since replying via email would be an easier way to voice their opinion.  In addition, we could promote the site further by adding facilities for integration unto the wider social media networks such as facebook, twitter, linkedin, Friendster, etc…  I think most of the OFWs would have an account on at least one of these social media channels.   Please let me know your thoughts on this.

As for the blog site, since you are teaching financial literacy, I would also suggest if

Save Money By Watching Out Your Spending Habit First!

The following article about saving money is a very sensitive topic and this is not for the faint of heart and onion skinned, more so when we touch about the common spending habit of most. At least I have warned you. But keep on reading as it might just also wake up your senses. This will also help us save money to be invested later for the OFW Bank that we are pushing to realize.

SAVING MONEY IS AN OLD IDEA

Saving money is not new to us because since the time when we were little kids our parents have already taught us how to save money. And now that we are grown ups and have become fathers and mothers to our kids, we have been urging our children to save money too.

But have we become good at saving money? If we are good at it, then how come we have not saved much? Well, one might argue that how can we save money if our income is very limited.

SAVING MONEY....PANG-MAYAMAN LANG BA?

But do you know that saving money is not only for those who are earning much? In fact, saving money is more necessary for those who earn little! 

Ang pag-iimpok ng pera ay hindi para lamang sa mga may malaking kinikita. Kundi sa katunayan, mas lalong kinakailangan na mag-impok ang mga manggagawang mas kakaunti ang kinikita.

Ngunit paano? Papaanong makapag-impok ang isang manggagawang maliit ang kinikita, na kadalasan ay kulang pa ang kinikita kaysa kanyang mga gastusin at iba pang pangangailangan? 

CAN THE LOW-INCOME EARNER STILL SAVE MONEY?

Is saving money still possible for people with low income? For people whose income is not even enough to cover their expenses?

An Emotional Blog From A Son Whose Dad Is An OFW

I am posting here an exact copy of an emotional blog from a son whose Dad is an OFW who works in Libya, and I have also posted my 1 kilometer comment, long as it is but please read on because it might also help you guide your kids.

The name of the blogger-child is Jeffrey Francis who is very appreciative of what his Dad is doing for their sake, and he has this big question: "How can we repay them for their hard work?". I have tried to give him my thoughts below, through this article. Quoting now from Jeffrey Francis' blog:

"Parents......Our Real Inspiration  

 It was July 5 at 7:30 in the evening we go to the airport.....Our father will go back to Libya for another one year contract. All of us were sad because we will be missing him again. Almost everyday we go to church to ask God for his safe flight and for his good health......Thanks God because of internet we survived.....We cried but we have to sacrifice because it is for our own good, especially for us, his children, in order for us to finish our studies....

Parents......They serve as the life and inspiration of  the children like us, because they are the one who gives us tender love and care.. Not only that but they also give us enough protection. They comforts, gives advice and help us in times of problems and troubles. When you wake up in the morning the first person you can see is your parents... Your  mother cooking your breakfast, and your father preparing his self for his work. How thankful we are in their industriousness,but how we can repay them for those hardworks?

Could It Be That..?

For so many years, the Philippines has been sending out skilled, talented, excellent and well-experienced workers and professionals to work abroad. For a long time, our kababayang OFWs have worked in different corners of the earth to be able to send home financial support for their families. Pero ganito lang po ba talaga ang tunay na layunin at dahilan kung bakit mayroon tayong milyon-milyong OFWs ngayon.

I can sense that there is more to it. Could it be that the real and bigger purpose is to gather the dollars, the euros, the dirhams, the rials, the yens, etc. of other nations and put up a big bank owned by OFWs with big foreign currency deposits? So that this big bank will become the source of sustenance for the future generations - the sons and daughters of OFWs? And that will be used by God to end your sufferings of working away from home, and be finally united with their family and put up profitable businesses here thereby increasing the gross national product of the country, and providing more job opportunities to Filipinos here on top of making money through their dividends from this big OFW BANK?

Could the OFW BANK the best way for you to end the routine of waking up very early on Monday mornings (against your will and physical strength) to report to work making somebody else rich while you are forced to be content with what you receive every 15th and 30th?

Please take time to view the following videos and these might just help you redirect your lives, your purpose for living, and your visions for your life - as it did to me.

Starting 2011 Right!

Happy New Year! With an expectant heart, let us welcome the new year 2011 knowing and believing full well that God is with us, and He will never leave us nor forsake us, that He came to give us life and have it to the full.

Mga mahal kong kababayang OFWs baka hindi lang po ninyo alam na matagal na pong sinabi ng Panginoon ang plano Niya para sa atin, we may have become so busy working for a living and failed to get a life, but God said this to us, and I quote:

"¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. "

Talagang mayroong napakagandang plano ang Panginoon para po sa ating lahat - TO PROSPER YOU, TO GIVE YOU HOPE AN A FUTURE! If you want to check, go to Jeremiah 29:11-13 and see it for yourself.

There may be times in our lives that we are down and discouraged, and maybe a few of you are in that situation, pero huwag po kayong pumayag na panghinaan ng loob dahil dakila po sa lahat ang ating Panginoon. Let me quote here the strong encouraging words of the prophet Isaiah. He said in Isaiah 40:27-31:

"²⁷ Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”? ²⁸ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. ²⁹ He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. ³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; ³¹ but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Get on with life! Get on with God! Remember that it is He, the LORD, who has given you the ability, the skill and the power to gather, produce and make wealth!