SEN. Joel Villanueva sought the passage of a bill protecting the remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Villanueva on Thursday said Senate Bill (SB) 1917, or the OFWs Remittance Protection bill, which he authored, “is about fairness.”

“Our OFWs keep the Philippine economy robust. They deserve a system that values their sacrifices by making every remittance secure, affordable and accessible,” Villanueva said.

“The earnings of our OFWs should directly benefit their loved ones, and not be diminished by unnecessary costs,” he said in a statement.

Villanueva said the Department of Finance’s call to lower the OFWs’ remittance fees gave him the “impetus to push anew” for the passage into law of SB 1917, which has been approved on third reading in March.

He said the measure requires remittance service providers to disclose all fees and foreign exchange rates to “prevent unreasonable deductions on remittances.”

The bill also prohibits sudden or unilateral changes in charges, mandates consultations with stakeholders before fee adjustments and imposes penalties on violators.

“It ensures that the hard-earned money of our modern-day heroes is protected through transparent remittance costs, stronger consumer safeguards and greater accountability from financial service providers,” he said.