Press statement of Sen. Loren Legarda

On OFWs serving as drug couriers

The report that Filipinos are being recruited by drug syndicates as couriers of narcotics abroad is very disturbing. Our government must immediately undertake measures to stop our countrymen from being lured unwittingly into the drug trade, for which the penalty here in the Philippines and abroad is very high.

Concerned government agencies, including the Bureau of Immigration, must stop the suspicious deployment abroad of Filipino workers, including those who are leaving the country using the already well-known modus operandi of posing as tourists.

The overseas legal services of our embassies and consulates must also be strengthened to ensure that our countrymen facing charges abroad are given proper representation and are afforded the rights under the prevailing laws of their host countries.

On Labor Day celebrations

Each year, Labor Day is reduced to a question of what government and the private sector can promise or actually give Filipino workers in wage and non-wage benefits.

There is an urgent need to strike a balance between providing workers benefits and remunerations that are commensurate to their contributions to an enterprise, business or government operation, vis-a-vis profitability.

In the face of the global economic crisis, it is not anymore a question of margins but of the very survival of enterprises. Thus, a harmonious relationship between employers and workers is a must, along with constant dialogue.

On hiking deposit insurance to P.5 M

This landmark law should bring much needed confidence in our banking system, which had been hit of late by upheavals, including the collapse of a number of rural banks due to mismanagement. But as in the case of the Legacy chain of rural banks, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) must exercise vigilance in weeding out false claims so as not to put in peril its capacity to meet valid claims.

As it is, reports had surfaced that the PDIC had asked additional funding support from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, although it had been advised to tap its own funds to pay the claims of depositors.

Still, no insurance scheme can take the place of sound banking practices, which take good care of the deposits of bank clients to earn money for them, as well as for the banks. Government regulators must exert extra efforts in ensuring that banks are well-capitalized, are operating in full compliance with our laws, and are not being milked dry under any pretense.