Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano backed two Senate bills aimed at protecting overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from unfair remittance charges and helping their families manage the money they send home.
Cayetano signed the committee report for the Free OFW Financial Education Act on February 25, 2026, and the proposed Overseas Filipino Workers’ Remittance Protection Act on February 26, 2026.
The two measures are aligned with the senator’s long-standing advocacy for OFWs, whom he has consistently described as modern-day heroes whose “blood, sweat, and tears” should be matched by concrete protection and support.
“Regalo ng Diyos ang ating mga OFWs, hindi lang po noong may economic crisis tayo kundi lalong-lalo na po sa kanilang mga indibidwal na pamilya. A whole generation now ay nakapag-aral, may magandang trabaho, dahil doon sa generations ng mga OFW,” Cayetano, a former Secretary of Foreign Affairs, said.
“With these measures, maipapakita natin sa OFWs na ‘yung sakripisyo nila ay pinahahalagahan natin,” he added.
The proposed Free OFW Financial Education Act seeks to provide free and mandatory financial literacy training for land- and sea-based OFWs, as well as their families and dependents.
The training will be included in pre-departure and post-arrival seminars for OFWs. Their families will be reached through online seminars and other accessible platforms.
The program will teach OFWs and their families how to avoid scams and abusive loans, protect their properties, manage debt, and understand basic financial products such as insurance, savings, and investments, among others.
For Cayetano, the measure can help OFWs and their families invest their hard-earned money so they can eventually return home and live comfortably with their loved ones.
“Pwede kasi na habang kumakayod ‘yung ating mga OFW abroad, meron sa pamilya na pinag-aaralan na ‘yung negosyong gusto ng pamilya,” he said.
“Kasi kahit po nasa malayo ang OFWs, ang parating nasa isip nila ay ang makasama ang kanilang pamilya rito. Ang pangarap nating lahat, dumating ang araw na hindi na nila kailangan mag-abroad,” he said.
The second measure, the proposed OFW Remittance Protection Act, aims to protect OFWs from losses due to excessive remittance fees and abusive practices.
Under the measure, the Department of Finance, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the Department of Migrant Workers will determine allowable remittance fees and related charges.
It also seeks to penalize mis-conversion of foreign exchange, unauthorized deductions, or the release of lower peso equivalents of remittances to OFWs’ beneficiaries. Violators may face imprisonment, fines, or both.
Both bills are now awaiting the signatures of a majority of committee members before being sponsored to the Senate plenary.
To further the Overseas Filipino Workers’ Remittance Protection Act, Cayetano is set to interpellate on and propose amendments to the bill once it reaches the plenary.
In previous years, the lawmaker had urged government agencies such as TESDA to provide livelihood and skills training to families of OFWs, so remittances could be invested in small businesses and allow workers to retire from overseas employment earlier.
“Sana ‘yung mga future OFW na paalis, matulungan silang magkaroon ng five-year o 10-year plan – kung ano ang plano ng kanilang pamilya sa kikitain ng OFW na pwedeng i-negosyo – para mayroon silang exit plan,” he said during an outreach program for OFW families in 2021.