Editor's Note |
20 years of service to the community
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Time flies.
Exactly 20 years ago this month, The SUN shone for the Filipinos in Hong Kong. It was
the fulfillment of a dream that took shape years earlier, or shortly after I arrived here in 1987 and
realized there was no reliable information channel serving the community.
But turning that dream into reality proved to be difficult. Several people offered to fund
the publication of a news-paper, but everyone wanted a business model different from what we had
in mind.
Details...
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Anak Araw |
Pagpapabaya
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Nitong nakaraang buwan ay naging saksi tayo sa nangyari kay Manang Gloria Ortinez,
ang OFW na biktima ng tanim-bala sa Manila airport. Halos buong araw kasi ay naglagi siya sa
opisina ng The SUN, kasama ang mga naghatid sa kanya na sina Susan "Toots" Ople na tagataguyod ng
mga OFW, at ang abogado niyang si Atty Spocky Farolan, kaya nasaksihan namin siya nang malapitan.
Details...
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Migrant's Forum |
Nanay Gloria's journey to HK
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President Benigno Simeon Aquino III recently told the media that cases of tanim-bala
were sensationalized, citing figures to prove his point. As an OFW advocate, I respectfully
disagree. Looking at this from a purely numbers perspective could lead one to overlook the deep trauma
that such incidents have caused its innocent victims.
Had he met and spoken to 56-year old OFW Gloria Ortinez, our President would have
learned the following:
Details...
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Know Your Rights |
The Mission
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This was the speech delivered by the Mission for Migrant Workers' general manager,
Cynthia Tellez, at the launch of the 10-year Impact Evaluation Report of the Mission's work held on
December 5, 2015 at the Li Hall of St. John's Cathedral.
Details...
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With at least one -- and possibly two disqualification cases in the presidential race --
the Supreme Court has assured the nation politics will not dictate its decisions.
See this month's stories...
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Staff and volunteers at the Mission for Migrant Workers had reason to celebrate when
they launched the non-government organization's 10-year Impact Evaluation Report at Li Hall of St
John's Cathedral on Dec. 4. Nearly all, or 97% of migrants who sought assistance said that they were
helped by the Mission, and more than half of them (57%) said they would recommend the NGO to others.
See this month's stories...
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Mid-July 2014
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Know Your Rights
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It is now beginning to be known that the fees paid to the agency in the Philippines are
illegal. They are in violation of sec.1, rule IV (on illegal recruitment) of Republic Act (RA) 10022.
Under this, one of the definitions of illegal recruitment is
To charge or accept directly or indirectly
any amount greater than the specified in the schedule of allowable fees prescribed by the Secretary
of labor and Employment, or to make a worker pay or acknowledge any amount greater than
that actually received by her as a loan or
advance.
In December 2006, the POEA released the
Guidelines on the implementation of the
Reform Package Affecting Household Service Workers (HSWs)
referring to the zero agency fees for Filipinos leaving the country for household service
work. The government did not promote this
particular provision of the rule. It took the migrant workers themselves, through the campaigns by
organized migrant groups and assistance of social service providers, to learn about this and inquire what
actions could be taken. Afterwards, Filipino domestic workers started filing claims against
agencies through the POLO or the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in the Philippine Consulate General
in Hong Kong (PCG-HK); or at the POEA if they are to return home already.
In retaliation, lending companies have slapped migrant workers with the provisions of BP22
or the Anti-Bouncing Check Law.
In addition, lending companies have begun filing cases in court against OFWs who stop
paying the
loans
that their agencies had arranged for them so they could pay the illegal fees.
A court case increases the pressure on the migrant worker and her guarantors and co-makers,
as well as her family, to continue to pay the loan and just let go of the complaints against the agency.
Or they enter into disadvantageous settlements with the agency, which is what usually happens at
POLO during conciliation meetings.
If one wishes to proceed with non-payment of the fraudulent loan she is forced to take
out, giving instructions to the bank to
stop payment of checks issued to the lending company
or totally closing the checking account may be necessary, and the account holder should do this. The
account holder has to explain to the bank the reasons for doing so.
However, if you are still served with a subpoena, our article on how to avoid this legal
problem could be found in our column in The SUN's June 2014 mid-month edition.
In addition to issuing a subpoena, the court may also issue a document entitled
court
order
. While the subpoena's objective is to make the defendant/s appear in court on a specific date,
the court order defines and enumerates the directives or demands or instructions of the court for
the parties involved to follow.
1. Usually the court will order the Defendant, which is the migrant and maybe her
guarantors and co-makers, to submit a
counter affidavit
based on the allegations filed against them by
the complainant.
2. The complainant is usually the money-lender/lending company. The Lending Company
files a criminal case against the Defendant/s for violation of BP22 (Batas Pambansa Blg. 22) or the
anti-Bouncing Check Law in the Philippines.
The court order also sets the deadline for submitting the document. This needs to be followed
or you lose your chance to explain your action (non-payment of loan).
Let us remember that as the
borrower
of a loan, you must have signed a contract with
the lending company. Likewise, when the lending company required you to issue post-dated checks
to them, certain laws bind you.
This is also where the confusion comes in, especially when the conciliation process that
is supposed to be focus on the agency's illegal collection of fees ends up with the migrant worker
being required to pay the lending company. Even at POLO, there is no assurance that the law will
be invoked and that the Filipino worker's rights are guaranteed. In such cases, one can say that
the POLO acts like a collector for the lending company.
It needs therefore to be made clear that when a complaint is filed at POLO or the POEA
against the recruitment agency, a detailed statement of what transpired in the process of recruitment
is necessary. This should cover what happened from the time of job application by a migrant worker
to the process in which such loans were made. Relate in detail what happened to the money, up to
when the instructions on how repayment should be made, until the time that one has made a decision to
file claims for illegal exactions against the agency. This will show the connection between the
agency, the money loaned and the lending company.
This way, you are clear as to why you are at the POLO office: it is for conciliation meeting
with the principal agency representative who is from Hong Kong.
Also, being the complainant, you must not be confused when the issue of loan is raised.
Lest you forget, there are people who purposely confuse you along the way as part of a
sophisticated modus operandi. They confuse you so become less credible and uncertain of what you are saying.
Finally, this way, there will be no
misunderstanding and misapprehension of facts
on
your part, as what many conciliation settlements documents at POLO are written. Your own statement
will help and guide you.
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