The call for a "zero remittance week" by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as a protest for the release of former President Rodrigo Duterte highlights a deeper reality: Filipinos working abroad remain the backbone of the nation’s economy. But for Kuya Choi, first nominee of Kaunlad Pinoy Party-list, number 133 on the ballot, the bigger question is why so many Filipinos have to leave in the first place.

“This is not something new,” Kuya Choi said. “Most of our countrymen who seek better opportunities abroad do so to save up money.”

But saving money, he points out, is often just the beginning.

“When they finally save enough, who wouldn’t want to return home to their families?” he added. “That’s why we hear success stories of OFWs who manage to build businesses here after years of working abroad. They want to stay with their loved ones.”

For Kaunlad Pinoy, the key is creating opportunities for Filipinos within the country so that migration becomes a choice rather than a necessity.

“Through our programs, we’ve realized that what Filipinos truly need is guidance on how to start a business and access to capital,” Choi explained. “They shouldn’t have to work abroad just to save up for a business. Our goal is to break the cycle where families are torn apart because one has to leave to earn money. We want the next generation to find opportunities here at home.”

The Kaunlad Pinoy Party-list initiative, NegoNation, aims to transform the Philippines into a “nation of entrepreneurs.”

“The businesses they dream of, the capital they struggle to save overseas — we are helping families here build those businesses now,” he said.

Choi believes that even the smallest enterprises can flourish when built alongside family.

“We can start right here,” he said. “Even if it’s small at first, at least you’re with your family. The beauty of starting a business at home is that your whole family can help grow it. And someday, it can be passed down to the next generation.”

Dollars from home

When asked about foreign investors and expatriates setting up businesses in the Philippines, Choi welcomed the idea but emphasized that NegoNation is, first and foremost, about helping Filipinos thrive in their own country.

“We are, of course, open to foreigners coming here because our country has so many untapped opportunities,” he said. “But the main goal of Kaunlad Pinoy’s NegoNation program is to help our fellow Filipinos launch businesses so that instead of sending people abroad, we can send our products abroad.”

Choi envisions a future where the Philippines continues to benefit from foreign currency, not through remittances, but through exports driven by Filipino-owned businesses.

“If we’re talking about ending the era of sending our people abroad, we can’t forget that our OFWs are among the biggest contributors of dollars to our economy,” he said. “So, instead of our people leaving, what if it’s our products that go to other countries instead? That way, we keep our families together while still strengthening our economy.”

As the debate around OFWs and their economic impact continues, Kaunlad Pinoy presents an alternative, one where Filipinos don’t have to choose between financial stability and family.