Enrile on calls for 'zero remittance week': Think about consequences

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile has called on personalities who are urging overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for a 'zero remittance week' to think about its possible 'adverse effects.'

''Whoever advised Filipino OFWs to suspend the remittance of their earnings abroad to the country should think many, many times about the adverse consequences of that advice... As I said before, 'For every action there is always a possible counteraction,''' Enrile said in a social media post.

Enrile also urged OFWs to ''study carefully that advice to them before they get burned by it.'' 

''If such an advice is followed by some OFWs, what will happen should Congress, for instance, retaliate and cancel or also suspend the tax privileges of the OFWs that follow the advice? The OFWs are income tax--free on their earnings abroad; they do not pay travel taxes; they do not pay airport fees; they are exempt from the documentary stamp taxes on their remittances; and they are also exempt from filing income tax returns,'' he added.

Malacañang also urged OFWs, particularly the supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte, to remain calm in their plan to hold a “zero remittance week” to protest the detention of the former Philippine leader.

On March 11, Duterte was arrested and brought to The Hague, Netherlands due to crimes against humanity charges.

He entered the Hague Penitentiary Institution or the Scheveningen Prison where he is being held while awaiting trial. The next hearing on the confirmation of the charges has been set for September 23, 2025.

On Wednesday, the Office of the Prosecutor has disclosed to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1 and the defense its evidence for the charges filed against former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Marcos administration, meanwhile, has insisted that the arrest was legal, noting that the government only followed its commitments with the Interpol.

Impact

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro also said during a press briefing that such a move may have an impact on OFWs' families while those calling for the move may face possible charges.

''Sa ngayon po of course kapag po ito ay nag-uudyok, mayroon po tayong sinasabing mga inciting to sedition, bakit – ito po ay gustong sirain ang pagpapatakbo ng administrasyon. Ito ay makakasira sa ekonomiya ng bansa,' she said. 

(Of course, we have this inciting to sedition because this shows that one wants to disrupt the administration. This will disrupt the economy of the country.) 

''Pero as we speak now, wala po tayong nakikita na ating sasampahan ng kaso – wala pa po tayo sa ganiyang sitwasyon,'' she said.

(But as we speak now, we are not yet in the situation where we will file cases.) 

Castro added that President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. was already informed about the matter, saying that no legal action has been taken yet. —VAL, GMA Integrated News