Bulatlat

Six of the 59 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have complained of massive illegal recruitment of migrant workers to Taiwan are back in the country to continue their fight.

BY AUBREY MAKILAN
MIGRANT WATCH
Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 21, July 1-7, 2007

Six of the 59 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have complained of massive illegal recruitment of migrant workers to Taiwan are back in the country to continue their fight.

The six who were able to shoulder their airfare back to the Philippines asked Migrante International for assistance. They had with them all the copies of the 59 affidavits submitted to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan.

Sweet talk while charging exorbitant fees

“Kung gusto n’yong makaaahon sa buhay at matupad ang inyong pangarap, magtiwala kayo sa amin” (If you want to rise from poverty and realize your dreams, trust us). This was allegedly the statement frequently uttered by Adelyn Magsino, manager of Mission Way Manpower Services Inc., in trying to get the trust of those applying for work abroad and to encourage them to produce the P140,000 ($3,021.80 based on an exchange rate of $1:P46.33 as of June 29) she charges as placement fee (PF).

Overwhelmed by the sweet promises of the agency, the aspiring migrant workers did everything to pay the overpriced PF.

In late 2005 and early 2006, applicants of Mission Way were promised rewarding jobs at Quanta Display, Inc. in Taiwan.

But they had to pay every step of the way. Just for filling up the application form, they had to pay the cashier P20 ($0.43). The PF is P140, 000 plus a surety bond of P2,800 ($60.44). “Take it or leave it,” Magsino told them during their first briefing. That made them rush to search for ways of raising the money by all means.

Their examinations and interviews were held in a room at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Manila.  This made the applicants trust the agency more, thinking that an agency which can afford to rent a room in an expensive hotel would never run away with their money.  

The POEA website listed Mission Way as an agency in good standing and with a license valid until March 2008. Mission Way was number 18 in the POEA’s top 20 Agency Performance Awardees for land-based deployment in 2005.

Exam passers were referred by Magsino for medical check up that amounted to P3, 500 ($75.54).  After the medical tests, they were allowed to sign contracts even if they have not yet fully paid the PF.  Those who could not afford the PF were referred to Global Lending Inc. But they were also reminded that all fees should be fully paid before their departure.

Then, after attending other briefings with the agency, the applicants took the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) under the Philippine Association of Services Exporters Inc. (PASEI).

Irregularities

The applicants already noticed irregularities while undergoing the pre-departure processes but they trusted Magsino.  Those paying their fees on installment were not issued official receipts.  In stead, they said, their payments were listed in a blue record book and a brown envelope containing their respective documents.

They were told that they would be issued a receipt upon full payment of the placement fee. Others were merely given a telephone number they could call to keep track of their payments.  

But after paying their placement fee and surety bond in full, they were issued receipts in the amount of P25, 344 ($547.03) only instead of the P142,800 ($3,082.24) they were made to pay. “Ito lang daw kasi ang placement fee na ipinapatupad ng POEA,” (The POEA set this amount as standard placement fee) the workers wrote in their affidavits.

Magsino allegedly promised them that they could easily recoup their expenses including the fees they paid in less than six months because they would be working in a good company which would allow them to work overtime with pay.

A different reality

On their first day in Taiwan, when they were briefed by the company that would employ them regarding their contract, jobs, working conditions and salaries, they were surprised that it was very much different from what was promised by Magsino.

Mely Tee, who is with the Migrant Rights and Welfare Program of Migrante International, said that Joseph Ballesteros, one of the six complainants who returned to the Philippines, told her that for living quarters, 20 workers were packed in what appeared to be a “container van.”
 
The OFW complainants filed their affidavits before MECO Administering Officer Carlo Aquino on June 5. Original copies of the affidavits were sent to Migrante International’s office in Quezon City on June 15.

Some of the OFWs also complained that they have not recovered their expenses even though they have been working for more than a year now. They could not even save money because they monthly salary was only about P25, 000 ($539.61).

The migrant workers also overheard that they were working for another company AU Optronics when all along they thought they were working with Quanta Display.

Magsino went to Taiwan in August last year to ”fix the problem” but ”not to talk about their complaints,” the OFWs stated in their affidavits.

During her visit, she allegedly gave them three options: 1) they return to the Philippines to be able to refund 50 percent of their PF; 2) they would accept a loan amounting to 9000 NT dollars without interest provided that they sign a waiver that they would not file any claim or complaint regarding the placement fee and the dormitories; and 3) for those who paid through E-cash or the lending agency, she would make arrangements with the owner of the Global Lending Inc. to give them a grace period of three months, during which they would be required to pay only the interest charges..

Not the first complaint

Although all the 59 OFW complainants in Taiwan wanted to go home, Tee said, some opted to endure the hard work and meager salary in order to have something to send to their families in the Philippines. Others, she said, have yet to raise the money for their airfare.

But the six who were able to return to the Philippines represent the sentiments of the 53 other OFW complainants in Taiwan, Tee said.

Jonathan Panlilio, Migrante International case officer, said that in order to return to the Philippines, the six OFWs also had to pay “break contract” charges for not finishing their two-year contract with the company. Panlilio said they should not have been required to pay the charges because it was the company which violated the agreements thereby forcing the workers to quit. Each of the six OFWs paid about P44, 000 ($949.71) for the “break contract” charges and airfare.

Tee also said that Mission Way’s manager, Magsino, even asked her to help fix the problems with the complainants. Magsino allegedly offered Tee P5,000 ($107.92) as commission for every successful OFW deployment.  Magsino also claimed that it is the broker in Taiwan, not her, who profits from the deployments.  

Tee merely laughed off Magsino’s offers and claims. “Sabi ko sa kanya, kung ako ang agency, di ako papayag na di ako kikita. Gagastos ka ng milyon para lang ma-accredit ng POEA tapos wala kang kita? E di sana nagsara na ang agency kung gano’n” (I told her that if I was the agency’s owner, I wouldn’t continue deploying workers if I would not earn from it. You spend millions just to get POEA accreditation and you earn nothing? The agency would close down if that was the case.) Tee said.

Tee added that Mission Way had been slapped with a previous complaint of illegal recruitment in 2005. In 2004, she said, several nursing aides applied under a certain DGLF Agency to work abroad. But since DGLF could not process papers with the POEA due to other unresolved complaints filed against it, it asked Mission Way to process the nursing aides’ papers. The Mission Way, technically, deployed them whatever their agreement was, she said.

But the nursing aides came back after a year of working as janitors and nannies to elderly people in their host countries, earning far lower than what they expected and applied for. Because of this, they asked for the reimbursement of the six-month broker’s fee they paid amounting to P60,000 each ($1,089.13 based on the average exchange rate of $1:P55.09 for 2005). They also paid P80,000  ($1,427.55 based on the average exchange rate of $1:P56.04 for 2004) each as placement fee.

Tee said Magsino offered half of the amount the nursing aides were demanding to be refunded to them. Since the nursing aides were already broke and wanted to work abroad again, despite what they had experienced, they agreed to a settlement.

Meanwhile, the 59 OFWs filed illegal recruitment and overcharging complaints against Mission Way at the POEA. The POEA advised them to also file criminal charges against Mission Way at the Department of Justice. Bulatlat