Church body backs 30-year-old cap for migrant Pinoy domestics

MANILA, Philippines - The Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerants of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (ECMI-CBCP) is supporting the proposed re-imposition of higher age limits for overseas Filipino domestic helpers.

Fr. Edwin Corros, executive secretary of CBCP-ECMI said the commission “ is in favor" of re-imposing the 30-year-old cap on household service workers (HSW) to protect them from abuse and exploitation.

“We are supporting the higher age... The woman or person (is already) emotionally matured at that age," Corros said.

While he said that "there is no empirical study" proving that women at their 30s could protect themselves and fight abuses, Corros said raising the minimum age level for overseas domestic helpers "is still important" because women reach maturity at the said age.

He said Sri Lanka had decided to impose higher age limits on their domestic workers because of the problems similar to those being faced by Filipino maids.

“Sri Lanka is already into that and they will never allow their women to leave until they reach 30 or 35 and that is a good suggestion," said Corros.

Labor undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz said that the Department of Foreign Affairs had asked the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) governing board to increase the age limit for HSW from 23 to 30 due to high cases of suicide and runaways.

In 2006, POEA's governing board approved a resolution defining policy reforms to improve the condition of HSWs.

The policies, which took effect on December 16, 2006, include upgrading of skills of the workers; orientation course on country-specific culture and language; protective mechanisms at the job sites; obliging employers to shoulder the cost of deploying the domestic helper; increasing the age limit to 23 years old; and increasing the minimum salary of domestic workers from US$200 to US$400. - GMANews.TV

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