Pasali Cooperative Nederland - Advance the Ecoonomic Empowerment
of the Overseas Filipinos (Added Mar 4 07)
Pasali Cooperative Nederland
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A conservative estimate of overseas Filipinos in the Netherlands ranges
from 12,000 to 15,000. A concentrated number of them is found in the
cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. It is especially in these two cities
where, next to the so-called settled overseas Filipinos, a great number
of Filipino seafarers and oil rig workers are also found. Judging
from the existing organizations of overseas Filipinos, overseas Filipinos
are also found in substantial numbers in the areas of Leeuwaarden,
Lelystad, Hoofddorp, Utrecht, Den Haag, Nijmegen and Eindhoven.
Sending financial and material support to families in the Philippines
seems to be an important concern of overseas Filipinos. For a number
of years, Philippine bank subsidiaries such as the PNB (Philippine
National Bank) in Amsterdam and the PCI Bank (Philippine Commercial
and Industrial Bank) in Rotterdam have thrived, by mainly providing
remittance services to overseas Filipinos in the Netherlands. The
so-called "door-to-door" businesses have also sprouted in
the past few years, providing transport services for materials for
personal use from overseas Filipinos in the Netherlands to their respective
families in the Philippines.
The Filipino community in the Netherlands is relatively young - most
overseas Filipinos are still economically active, retirement is not
yet the order of the day. While giving financial and material support
to families in the Philippines is important, preparing for one's retirement
is definitely as important and should not be neglected. For the overseas
Filipinos temporarily residing in the Netherlands, a question which
needs to be addressed is whether they are able to put up the needed
economic infrastructure and capital for their retirement in the Philippines.
For the so-called settled overseas Filipinos, undoubtedly many of
them are wrestling with the question whether or not to retire in the
Philippines. If ever they choose to retire in the Philippines, the
question of being able to put up the needed economic infrastructure
and capital for retirement is for them also relevant.
Reintegration to the Philippines need not only take place upon one's
retirement. Many overseas Filipinos look forward to the time when
they are able to put up the needed financial capital and economic
infrastructure for their reintegration back to the Philippines.
On a macro level, the financial and material support of overseas
Filipinos to families in the Philippines can also be viewed within
the perspective of the overseas Filipinos' contribution to Philippine
social and economic development. Within this framework it is important
that overseas Filipinos are able to identify socially- and economically
viable businesses in the Philippines, where they could invest their
hard-earned financial capital. This not only contributes to the overall
Philippine development but facilitates the process of remigration
of overseas Filipinos as well.
In 1994, a group of mainly (ex)seafarers based in the Netherlands
formed the PASALI Nederland or the Philippine Association of Sea-based
Workers for Savings, Loans and Initiatives in the Netherlands. Based
on its experience and given the context as described above, PASALI
Nederland has decided to develop itself into a full-blown cooperative.
As it is now called, the PASALI Cooperative Nederland's thrust for
the coming year is towards building itself into a full-blown cooperative.
Present level of work
At present, the cooperative has 60 members. With its formation in
1994, PASALI initiated a savings mobilization program, the `Spaaraktief'.
Through this program participating members set aside a monthly amount
of Dfl 100,00 in a special savings account which PASALI has opened
for this purpose. The program aims to stimulate its members to save
and to put up a financial reserve for use by its members: in cases
of personal emergencies such as hospitalization of sick family members
in the Philippines; and in cases when business opportunities may arise
that need financial capital. To date, there are 20 cooperative members
participating in the program.
In an effort to stimulate investments in socially- and economically
viable businesses in the Philippines, a number of PASALI members have
also invested with Unlad Kabayan. Unlad Kabayan is a non-governmental
organization in the Philippines that mobilizes savings of Filipino
migrants for small socio-economic projects in the Philippines.
In March this year, the cooperative came up with the idea of putting
up a remittance scheme for its members because many of its members
regularly send financial support to their families in the Philippines.
Providing remittance service to its members which is fast, reliable,
convenient and most economical is a need which was then identified.
The cooperative started negotiating with banks in the Philippines
and in the Netherlands. In August, the Pasali-Padala BV was established
and its remittance service started being functional. The minimum required
capital of Dfl 40.000,00 was put up from the funds of the savings
mobilization program and from additional investments of around 50
individual members of the cooperative. In addition to providing remittance
service to its members, the BV is committed to use part of its profits
for projects that will further empower and develop the overseas Filipino
community.
In terms of linking up with NGOs, the cooperative participated actively
in an Experts' Meeting on "Trade and alternative trade: realities
and opportunities" held in September of this year, which was
organized by BALIGYA (Filipino-Dutch trade service center) and FIDoC
(Philippine Information and Documentation Center).
Finally, the cooperative is now working on its website.
General Objectives of the PASALI Cooperative Nederland
The cooperative aims to advance the economic empowerment of its members
in particular, and of the overseas Filipinos in general.
The cooperative seeks to develop the individual and joint resources
of its members in engaging in businesses relevant to the needs of
its members and the rest of the overseas Filipinos and which promotes
their empowerment.
The cooperative aims to encourage savings and other future-oriented
socio-economic activities (such as retirement plans and investments)
from among its members and with the rest of the overseas Filipinos.
The cooperative aims to develop the human resources of its members
for management, administrative, and other specific skills and talents.
These are important for the development of the cooperative, but also
for the individual member's own personal and career development.
The cooperative strives to lay the economic foundation for the remigration
of its members.
The cooperative aims to address the needs and promote the general
welfare of its members and the rest of the overseas Filipinos, and
that of their families both in the Netherlands and in the Philippines.
The cooperative will link up and cooperate with other organizations
of overseas Filipinos, non-governmental organizations (NGO's) and
Philippine government organizations in its effort to promote the general
welfare of its members, their families and the rest of the overseas
Filipinos in the Netherlands and elsewhere.
The cooperative seeks to promote Philippine political, social and
economic development, the Filipino seafarers and overseas Filipinos
being an integral part of Philippine society.
For updated info, always visit their website at http://www.pasali.nl/
ofw info hub 