OFWs protest inclusion of P550 terminal fee in plane fares

Overseas Filipino workers took to social media to protest the automatic inclusion of the P550 terminal fee in airplane ticket costs, a new setup that will start on October 1, according to a report on GMA News' “Unang Balita” on Tuesday.

While officials from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport stated that refunds are available for OFWs—who by law are exempted from paying terminal fees—the workers claimed the process for getting the refunds presents extra burden to them.

Using the hashtag #Noto550, individuals and pro-migrant groups around the world lambasted the new ruling.

Global OFW Voices, a migrant Filipino group, even created a petition protesting the inclusive P550 service charge and asking the Department of Transportation and Communications to exempt all OFWs from the charge.

The protesters cited Republic Act 10022 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, which exempts OFWs from terminal fee.

"Yung mga kagaya namin na nasa labas ng bansa at kumpanya ang bumibili ng ticket, embedded na daw yung terminal fee, so walang kwenta na OFW kami at exempted kasi company naman ang nagbabayad, at dahil hindi namin pera, baka sakaling di na kami magpapa-refund," they wrote in their petition. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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