Saving the Adell Milans of society

FR. Richmond Nilo, a Catholic priest, was killed in Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija on June 10. A few days later, an out-of-school youth named Adell Milan was arrested by the police. Milan was taken into custody based on the supposed eyewitness account of an altar boy in the parish of the slain priest.

On July 2, Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde announced the arrest of four new suspects in the killing of Fr. Nilo. The initial suspect, Milan, was released from detention on June 29.

Milan, a young man of 25, is not enrolled in an educational

- ficulties. His parents are both overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the Middle East.

Why was Milan arrested? He was arrested because he happened to be loitering with his friends and tinkering with a motorcycle at the time.

This would not have happened if he had been in school. This would not have happened if his family had the money to pay for his college education. This would not have happened if there is an

A January 2017 study at the University of San Carlos evaluated how OFWs and their households allocate their remittances and the factors that affect their investment decisions on education, if any.

According to the study, the subjects’ actions extend beyond their current resources and to their future needs and assets. According to the life cycle theory of savings, borrowing generally takes place early in the household’s life, when income is low. With that, a household can raise its consumption expenses and then attempt to even it out over the course of their lives. As the income rises, the household pays off its debt and saves for retirement. In retirement, when work- related revenues have stopped, savings are steadily liquidated to maintain the cost of living. At death, there are no assets remaining. In essence, the goal is to “die broke.”

Migrant parents consider giving their kids a good education a necessity. The study also found that most of the OFWs’ dependents that are studying are either their siblings or children. Moreover, most of the dependents, who are not the direct children of the OFWs, are either in high school or college, so education expenses are relatively higher.

This clearly points to the need to establish a fund, say an education fund, for OFWs — a fund that they can tap, use now and pay up in the future.

Pending House bills

There are three bills ( HB 1710, 2768, 2865) pending before the House of Representatives seeking to broaden the opportunities for higher education by enabling qualified members of the Social Security System ( SSS) and the Government Insurance System ( GSIS) to ensure the college education of their children through the Education Trust Fund. The bills “seek to guarantee the completion of a basic fouryear or five- year college course.”

In these almost identical bills, the SSS or the GSIS, as the case may be, will pay the college education of the member’s child, no matter what that cost would be, at the time of enrollment. “It is in effect paying for the child’s education tomorrow at today’s prices. The payment is made directly to the school, thus preventing the funds from being used for other purposes,” the bills explain.

There is a counterpart bill to these three House bills in the upper chamber, Senate Bill 280.

If passed, this will work well for Philippine-based workers. But probably not for OFWs.

How OFWs are affected

A major manpower agency owner discussed with me the problem of the resulting law, if the pending bills are approved, in relation to OFWs. He observed that of our little over 10 million OFWs, less than 20 percent are contributing to the SSS. Most OFWs stopped paying their SSS contributions because there is no encouragement for them to continue as they can get back their benefits only when they reach the voluntary or mandatory age of retirement. However, they need their ben

- tion of their children. Thus, they would rather pay contributions to a private educational plan than to the SSS. Remember the likes of PET and CAP? Most of our OFWs fell victim to some of these notorious pre-need companies.

In one of the House versions, I read that “only members who have completed the payment of the contract price stipulated in the plan agreement or policy contract before enrollment of the grantee shall be entitled to avail

does not seem right. If the OFWs have to pay up the contract price

need for SSS. All they have to do is deposit their savings in the bank and withdraw them later for their children’s education.

What our OFWs need now is to be able to avail of an education fund from the SSS, continuously

years in school, and pay the loan out when their children graduate from college. The term of the loan

When should an education trust fund be established? The answer is now. When should the SSS mandate be amended to include this

When should we start saving the Adell Milans of our OFWs?