A MAN on a bicycle looks at an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo. Asian stocks rose after an upbeat US economic report eased persistent investor concerns over Brexit-related global turmoil. AP
NELFA Segovia, a Filipino nurse who immigrated to Oxford, England 15 years ago, feels the piggy bank getting slimmer everyday with the erosion of the British pound’s purchasing power since the United Kingdom (UK) voted to leave the European Union (EU). She regularly wires money to the Philippines to support her two college-aged children and her mother.
“Because of the lower exchange rate, I have to send a bigger amount to offset the loss,” said Segovia. In just a few years, the Filipino nurse who is currently working at the UK’s publicly funded healthcare system National Health Service, would also be retiring.
On June 23, the British sterling sunk more than 10 percent against the US dollar as Brexit votes dominated the UK referendum. In just a day, it hit its lowest level in over three decades. It continues to be under pressure up to this day.
It turned out Segovia, who became a British citizen in 2006, was among the 53.4 percent of voters who favored a Brexit, an amalgamation of the words “British” and “exit.”
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“I voted for exit because most of the laws here are regulated by the EU. There is no border control [such] that anyone from the EU can come and work. And because the UK has a good benefits system and as an EU member, they can avail of the free health and education and also help from government. The UK pays millions of British pounds to fund other EU members when the country itself is in need of funds,” Segovia said.
Tim Catacutan-Bathan, a chef who immigrated five years ago with her two boys to join her Filipino husband in London, echoed the same. “It feels bad to send [smaller] money to the Philippines,” she said.
