Press Release
May 5, 2009

Jinggoy probes case of OFWs victimized under contract
substitution in Qatar, Libya

The Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada yesterday started its probe into the case of some 70 Filipino workers who were victims of contract substitution in Qatar and Libya.

The committee first tackled Estrada's Resolution Number 1024 on the plight of more than 20 Filipinos recruited to work in Qatar. During the hearing, OFWs Larry Canlas of Candaba, Pampanga (recruited by H.M.O. International Human Resources in December 2008) and Nelson Ebreo from Mauban, Quezon (by SML Human Resources Inc. in November 2008), narrated they were promised by their recruiters a monthly salary of 1,500 Qatar Riyals (QR) and US$ 430, respectively, for work as tile setters at the Jassim Decoration and Services Company in Qatar.

However, they were paid for their work in Qatar not as employees, but on a per-production basis, through which they received only 9 QR per square meter of finished jobs, averaging, based on human work capacity, at only about 800 QR a month. Their employer even deducted their food-and-other-living expenses from the said downgraded salary. In effect, they were able to gain and remit nothing for their families back in the Philippines.

The OFWs decided to cease from working and went to the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Qatar to seek assistance. They were then threatened by Jassim with incarceration since they refused to work, and later forced to execute waivers stipulating they would not file a case against Jassim so they would be allowed to return to the Philippines, but on their own expenses. Otherwise, their passports will not be returned to them; and exit clearance and other documentary requisites will not be issued. The executed waivers, the OFWs said, was sealed by the POLO.

The said waivers resulted in them being excluded from the list of workers held by OWWA and POEA requesting assistance for repatriation.

POEA Administrator Jennifer Manalili says that under the usual process of workers' repatriation, POLO furnishes a report to POEA, indicating the request for repatriation. Upon receipt, POEA requires the deploying agency within 48 hours to provide plane tickets. Should they fail to do so, documentary processing of the said agency shall be suspended.

Finally, the OFWs were able to go home through financial solicitation from and generosity extended by the Filipino community in Qatar.

The committee also tackled Estrada's Resolution number 1025 seeking investigation into the plight of some 50 OFWs deployed in Libya complaining of contract substitution and labor malpractices, such as poor living conditions and inhumane and slave-like treatment by their employer, the M/S CIFIX World.

OFWs, upon arrival on Libya were forced by their respective recruitment agencies to sign new employment contracts stipulating a salary of US$ 300 for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week work - departure from the original contract of US$420 for 8 hours a day, 6 days a week work.

"These incidents in Qatar and Libya are clear cases of illegal recruitment and contract substitution, committed by POEA-licensed recruiters at that! I am studying the possibility of increasing the penalty for such illegal practices and introducing other legislative actions to combat such practices," Estrada said.

SML Human Resources Inc.'s recruitment license is valid until November 2012, HMO International Human Resources, on the other hand has license to recruit from POEA until July 28, 2010.

Section 7 of the Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 states that "Any person found guilty of illegal recruitment shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and one (1) day but not more than twelve (12) years and a fine not less than two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00) nor more than five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00)."

Sen. Estrada, also Chairman of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Labor and Employment, prodded the OFWs seeking jobs abroad to turn away from shortcuts and consult labor experts or government officials upon intuition of any documentary discrepancy before flying out. "Some of the cases we heard involve blank contracts, contracts which do not stipulate basic salary and other basic information on what to expect in the host country, and some even flew out of the country without signing an employment contract," Estrada said.

Sen. Estrada, further, pushed for the close coordination of the government agencies handling overseas employment and welfare concerns. "Get your acts together for this is not a joke. This involves the welfare of our laborers and the families relying on them," Estrada asserted.

Sen. Estrada plans of conducting another committee hearing where he expects the implicated recruitment agencies to attend and offer their testimonies.

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