HK employment agencies warned on illegal collection of placement fees


Employment agencies in Hong Kong recruiting Filipino workers could lose their accreditation
with the Philippine Consulate and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration if
found collecting placement fees, in some form or other, from household service workers.
Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac said there were information that some Philippineaccredited agencies in HK collect placement fees from HSWs through “imaginary” loan or an
ATM account.
Labor Attaché Manuel C. Roldan of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Hong
Kong reported that through the “imaginary” loan, the worker is brought to a lending company
either in the Philippines or Hong Kong to sign a loan agreement but does not receive the
loan proceeds. The worker is then issued a card and advised to pay the loan on installment
basis through a convenience store. The agency keeps the worker’s passport or employment
contract and returned to the worker upon full payment.
In an ATM account, the agency assists the worker in opening a savings account and keeps
the ATM card. The employer is then advised to deposit the salary of the worker to that
account. The agency withdraws the worker’s salary, and after getting its share as monthly
payment for placement fee, gives the remaining cash to the worker.
Roldan said these practices are highly irregular and illegal as they violate the ‘no placement
fee policy’ of the Philippine government as well as the legally allowed agency commission in
Hong Kong which is only 10 percent of the monthly salary of the worker.
Cacdac said the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong has already issued a memorandum to
all accredited HK agencies with a warning that the Philippine government will not tolerate
these malpractices.
“Any violation committed by the Hong Kong agency will be dealt with seriously and this
office (Consulate General of the Philippines) will apply the full force of Philippine laws that
may eventually lead to the suspension or cancellation of the agency’s accreditation with the
Philippine Consulate and the POEA,” Roldan stated in the memo.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more