ABU DHABI // Protests are being planned after a Philippine government agency decided to double fees paid by Filipinos working overseas.
Starting this month, annual premiums for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp (PhilHealth) will increase from 1,200 pesos (Dh99) to 2,400 pesos.
“For a very long time, it has been collecting fees from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs),” said Karen Tanedo, the group’s chairwoman. “But many of us do not enjoy the benefits here.
When living abroad, PhilHealth members can claim for seek reimbursement of medical bills within 180 days of being discharged from hospital. The agency subsidises room and board, medicine, laboratory exams, operating room fees and hospital stays.
Its outpatient coverage includes day surgeries, dialysis and cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and radiography in accredited hospitals.
“The increase is an unnecessary burden to those working overseas,” Ms Tanedo said.
Apart from paying the annual contribution to PhilHealth, Filipinos returning from holidays in the Philippines must secure an overseas employment certificate for a Dh10 fee before they leave the country. Applicants must be members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) – at a cost of Dh92 for two years.
They must also be members of the Home Development Mutual Fund, known as the Pag-Ibig Fund, at a cost of at least Dh10 a month.
In October, PhilHealth reacted to criticisms from overseas worker groups. On its website, officials said the move was “appropriate and has been decided upon with the best interest of overseas workers and their families in mind.”
"There is a need to adjust given that the annual premium for every indigent family is already pegged at 2,400 pesos," said Chona S Yap, PhilHealth Manager for Overseas Filipino Programme, on the PhilHealth website.
“With such gainful employment status, it is but proper that their contribution rate should at least approximate the rate for indigents.”
Dr Israel Pargas, PhilHealth’s spokesman, said: “The premium adjustment began in 2011 but OFW groups had requested to defer it so we announced that the full implementation will be this year.”
He said there was an option to pay the full amount, or pay 1,200 pesos every six months.
But members of a rights group, Migrante UAE, were scheduled to meet in Dubai last week to discuss their move against the increase.
Because mass actions are banned in the UAE, the group is likely to hold a silent protest in Dubai, said Ms Tanedo.
"It will be similar to the white-shirt protest held in Deira in August," she said. "We will also use social networking sites to protest against PhilHealth's move as well as other state exactions."
The group plans to collect signatures from Filipinos in the UAE and launch an online signature campaign calling on PhilHealth and other agencies to stop the increase.
Starting this month, overseas Filipino workers will also pay 0.6 per cent more in monthly contributions to the Social Security System.
For example, an employee with a monthly income of 15,750 pesos (Dh1,304) or more, will have to contribute 1,760 pesos to the pension fund.
"We might also revive the Zero Remittance Day that we launched last year," said Nhel Morona, the UAE country coordinator for Migrante Middle East.
The group encouraged Filipinos in the UAE not to send remittances on September 19 to pressure the Philippine government to abolish the Priority Development Assistance Fund, seen as one of the causes of corruption.
rruiz@thenational.ae