Reaction Paper

Title: Mandatory 3% increase in the contribution of OFW’s

The PhilHealth wants OFW’s to pay 3% of their salaries to help the government to be able to
sustain the fund used in the outbreak of COVID-19 which causes a furor. In my opinion, this
increase is very inhumane and unfair since my mother is an OFW and a frontliner since she’s a
nurse in Saudi Arabia.

Many people were outraged due to this increase that will continue until 2025. “Why burden our
OFWs with more mandatory payments when the government cannot even provide them with
sufficient aid in this time of crisis? Why make them more cash-strapped?” KMU chair Elmer
Labog said in a statement. That is why it is an additional burden to OFW’s that are working hard
for their families and taking their money as a mode of sustaining funds for the outbreak of
Corona Virus is unfair since they are working hard for their families yet the Government sees it
as an opportunity to take the money and use it for sustenance of funds. The government of the
Philippines keep making a lot of mistakes and don’t even care about the people and are trying to
divert our attention that there aren’t any mass testing done for the virus and lying to the people
that there will be a flattening of the curve yet it is still increasing while other countries have
successfully flatten the curve and did a great job for their citizens. Since this outbreak led us to
see how corrupt most government officials are, maybe this will let us vote for someone that is
more capable of doing their jobs properly to serve our country well.

Most officials think that they are high and mighty just because of their position without even
realizing that they are in that position because of the people that voted for them. So, for me, as a
student, it is very important to speak up instead of being blind towards this situation. The
government should fear the people, not the people should fear the government. The government
is diverting our attention with the shut down of ABS-CBN and increasing the rates of
contribution of OFW’s that are working hard from issues that should be focused on. The increase
is a burden towards the OFW’s yet they call them “heroes” of our country. They only care about
the sustenance of money for the funds for the Corona Virus without caring about the OFW’s
sacrifices, hard works, and endurance for their families. For me, this is an act of selfishness and
idiocy of the Government that only cares about their money and privileges. They don’t know the
feeling of OFW’s that wants to see, hug, and kiss their families in person and they are trying to
increase the rate of the contribution of OFW’s. For me, they should focus on the pandemic first
before trying to implement worthless and burdening laws that will only cause more problems in
the future. So, I completely disagree with this new implementation of the law.