AN ORDINANCE CREATING THE _________ COUNCIL
FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE WELFARE OF
OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS/FILIPINO MIGRANTS
ABROAD AND THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY
DEPENDANTS IN THE HOMELAND
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Being considered the 2nd, if not now the highest
migrant sending country worldwide, and the highest
in Asia, with almost 10% of its 82.8 million
population living and working overseas, and
remitting close to 16 billion US dollars a year in
2007, the Philippines theoretically has a tremendous
potential for translating the net inflows of migrant
remittances to boost the Philippine economy and
increase its productive capacity.
According to recent statistics, families of OFWS
spent their remittances primarily for (1) Basic
household necessities (2) Payments of debts
contracted to underwrite migration expenses (3)
Education of children (4) Medical expenses or
emergencies (5) Purchase of land, or home
construction or improvement (6) Purchase of
appliances or other durables and (7) Savings and
Investments in micro-enterprises.
17.4 of Philippine households have at least 1
overseas Filipino worker and based on 2000
statistics, these OFW households spent Php460
billion on durables. 64% of these households are
located in urban areas and 36% in the rural areas.
Aside from remitting to their families, individual
migrants as well as estimated 12,000 regional,
social, civic and other migrant Filipino associations,
have long been raising funds to underwrite small
infrastructure projects and other humanitarian
causes in the Philippines, such as building of
schools, hospitals, churches, waterwells, conduct of
medical missions, medicine, amelioration of victims
of calamities, support of streetchildren and orphans,
churches, and others. The Commission on Filipinos
Overseas, a Philippine government agency attached
to the Department of Foreign Affairs, has run a 10
year program called Linkapil, that has mobilized
from overseas Filipinos in North America, Australia
and Europe, the amount of over a billion pesos, that
have gone into various community projects in the
provinces, in accordance with a needs profiling
system that they had devised. This is probably only
a fraction of this ongoing philanthropy by the very
extensive Philippine diaspora.
Certain local government units (LGUs), on their own
initiatives, are initiating programs to lure their
natives overseas to visit and explore trade and
investment possibilities within their territory. With
the help of international institutions and civil society
organizations, they are promoting trade,
investments and tourism to outside visitors, through
the organization of trade and tourist promotions
overseas, and have legislated a local investments
and incentives code that is being implemented by
an investments office. For instance, the province of
Bohol held a trade and investments fair attended by
hundreds of their overseas natives from North
America who came to visit their hometowns and
participate in an investment matching forum.
LGUs are improving their skills on local governance
and are beginning to learn how to raise revenues
independent of the national government, a power
granted to them by a 15 year old decentralization
law. Today, about 10 LGUs have raised funds
through bond issues at the local level in order to
build public markets, cold storage and post harvest
facilities, wharves, tourist facilities and convention
centers and other rural infrastructure, and there are
40 more lgu projects in the pipeline. This was done
with the help of a financial management firm that
has pioneered in the use of bonds for local
development. While these bond issues were
normally underwritten by commercial banks, a
special bond issue is being designed with overseas
Filipino workers as potential investors of bonds
issued by their own hometowns, whose needs they
could readily identify with.
Microfinance has a crucial role in the development
of local economies, as stated in a recent ILO study.
There are current initiatives and studies being
designed not only to tap microfinance institutions as
remittance centers, but also to attract migrant
Filipinos to place their savings and investments in
microfinance institutions, where the major players
are mainly rural and thrift banks, NGOs,
cooperatives and other community based financial
institutions. Collectively, microfinance organizations
service close to 500,000 microenterpreneurs. Even
the government�s microfinance arm, the PCFC, is
serving 79 provinces, 113 out of 114 cities, and
1,083 out of 1,496 towns. (11)
Microfinance reaches out to more marginalized
people and others in the informal sector and even
returned migrants whose only coping mechanism
may be engaging in microenterprise. Studies show
that a large number of migrant enterprises resulted
in failures because they were the result of
speculative or unreliable information, and the lack
of proper business skills, commitment or values by
family members who were appointed to run them.
Linking migrants and their families to microfinance
institutions may provide migrant families the
business mentoring and access to capital which may
precisely what an absentee migrant needs to make
sure that money remitted is used productively and
not wasted on non-essentials. Besides, studies
currently being undertaken indicate that migrants or
their families could save or invest in microfinance
banks or institutions and still manage a rate of
return that is comparable to what commercial banks
offer, in addition to helping the creation of more
jobs. The participation of microfinance institutions
contributes to the improvement of the country’s
savings rate and contributes to the expansion of a
more extensive network of financial intermediaries
with yet new financial products that will help
leverage remittances for broader economic
development.
All these potentials and opportunities can address
the slow and staggering growth of our local
economy brought about by very limited production-
geared investments. It is high time that a special
body in the form of a city council headed by the
Chief Executive in collaboration with the legislative
arm ,the business sector and the civil society be
engaged in drafting programs , policies , laws and
projects attuned to concretize in actions the
abovementioned endeavors and aspirations.
SECTION 1. Title
This ___ Ordinance shall be Known as
AN ORDINANCE CREATING THE __________ CITY
COUNCIL FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE WELFARE
OF OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS/FILIPINO
MIGRANTS ABROAD AND THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY
DEPENDANTS
SECTION 2. Purpose and Objectives
A) To create a venue where local investment
initiatives geared in utilizing the potentials of
OFWs / Filipino Migrants remittances and
philanthropic support for the growth and
development of the local economy will be
discussed.
B) To facilitate the creation of timely ordinances
geared in regulating the legal operations and
activities of Overseas Job Recruitment and
Placement Agencies operating within the
territorial jurisdiction of ___________.
C) To provide a venue wherein common
problems ,sentiments and aspirations of
OFWS / Migrant Filipinos and their families
shall be aired and appreciated for
appropriate actions .
D) To be able to formulate mechanisms for
technology transfer wherein the skills and
technologies acquired by OFWs/ Filipino
migrants in their host countries shall be
learned and acquired by the local man
power .
E) Provide the venue where specific tax
incentives , assistance , privileges and
specific services for OFW/Migrant Filipinos
and their families shall be discussed and
carefully evaluated from time to time for the
purpose of acknowledging their valuable
contribution to nation building.
F) To facilitate the declaration of a city wide
OFW/Migrant Filipino Celebration Week;
cultural activities, bazaars, programs,
symposiums, contests, awarding ceremonies
and OFW/ Filipino Balikbayan homecoming
shall be observed.
G) To create a condition wherein Organizations
of OFWs/Filipino Migrants and their families
shall be organized,recognized , provided
assistance and maximized as potent
component and reliable partner of the LGU
in pursuit of a more responsive and progress
oriented governance
H) To be able to adopt specific safety nets,
tactical and strategic programs for
OFWs/Migrant Filipinos and their family
dependents in the local level in fulfillment to
the vision and mission of the national
government
SECTION 3. COMPOSITION – The following shall
comprise the council membership:
Elected or Appointed Members of the Council
1. The City Chief Executive acting as the
Council Chairman
2. The Chairman of the Committee on OFW
Welfare of The Sangguniang Panlungsod
acting as the Council Vice Chairman
Regular Members of the Council
3. The City Planning Department Head
4. The DUSIRS/Agri/Industrial relations /
Department Head
5. The City Legal Department Head
6. The Chairman of the Committee on Ways
and Means of the Sangguniang Panlungsod
7. Representative from the Business Sector
( _______ Chamber of Commerce )
8. Department of Trade and Industry local rep
9. The Liga ng mga Barangay President
10. OWWA local rep
11. Department of Foreign Affairs rep
12. Head of the Cultural Affairs or tourism Office
13. representative coming from accredited OFW
and Balikbayan Organizations and
Institutions
14. representative coming from the Religious
Sector ( Diocese of _______ )
 15. representative coming from the local
Banking Sector
16. DECS District Superintendent
17. Sanggunian Kabataan Chair
18. Health Officer
inconsistent with this Ordinance are hereby
modified or repealed accordingly.
SECTION 9. Effectivity- This Ordinance shall take
effect immediately upon approval.

19. Religious sector rep

20. Banking sector rep
21. Police

SECTION 4. Powers And Functions of the Council

Chairman-

The Council Chairman shall have the ff duties and

Functions

a. To preside over the regular and special meetings

of the Council which will be determined by the
Council
b. To render annual reports to the ________
Development Council and such special reports as
may be requested;
c. To synergize resources at the disposal of the
institutions represented in the council
d. To recommend to the Council such policies and
measures he may deem necessary to carry out the
objectives of the Ordinance ;
e. To approve applications for the grant of fiscal
incentives to members of the Council in accordance
with policies set by the Council; and
f. Generally, to exercise such other powers and
perform such other duties as may be authorized by
the board, from time to time.

SECTION 5. Powers and Functions Of The Council

Vice Chairman –

The Council Vice-Chairman shall have the following

powers and duties:

a. To preside over the regular and special meetings

of the Board in the absence of the Chairman; and
b. To perform other duties of the Chairman in the
absence of the latter, and such other duties as may
be assigned to him by the Council.

SECTION 6. Implementing Rules And Regulations –

The City Mayor in his capacity as the Chairman of
the Council and upon the recommendation of the
Council, shall formulate Implementing Rules and
Regulations necessary for the efficient and effective
implementation of any and all provisions of this
Ordinance

SECTION 7. Separability Clause – The provisions of

these Rules are hereby declared to be separable,
and in the event that one or more of the provisions
hereof are held illegal or unconstitutional, the
validity of the other provisions shall not be affected
thereby.

SECTION 8. Repealing Clause- Ordinances,

Executive Orders and other local legislation