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Probe Phil. Embassy in Japan for “shenanigans”— Migrante

BAGUIO CITY (Feb. 25) — Migrante called on Congress to investigate “possible shenanigans” at the Philippine Embassy in Japan regarding the escrow bond Japanese recruitment agencies pay to the government. The said bond is a protection fund for overseas Filipino workers in Japan.

In a press release Migrante Chaiperson Connie Bragas-Regalado called on the Congressional Committees on Labor and Employment and Overseas Workers Affairs to investigate and audit the government’s handling of these funds.

Regalado said that Ambassador Domingo Siazon Jr. already admitted that a Japanese recruitment agency pays US$20,000 bond for every Filipino they hire from the Philippine government. Siazon also admitted that the said bond is deposited to either the Land Bank of the Philippines or the Philippine National Bank then to the National Treasury.

According to Migrante, granted that all 800 Japanese companies paid at least US$20,000, the government collected a total of US$16 million since 1999. “This amount is supposed to be in the care of the National Treasury according to Ambassador Siazon,” Regalado said.

Regalado contested the claims of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo that it does not profit from the escrow bond. “When a Japanese agency deposits the bond in a Philippine Bank, the bank exacts an accumulated interest profit that bolsters government’s scant financial resources. These funds should be audited, especially how government has disbursed these,” she explained.

Moreover, Regalado revealed that aside from the said bond, Japanese agencies are required to submit several documents annually that have to be verified by the Labor Office for a fee of Y2,100 and a consular official for Y5,250. The said forms include a Special Power of Attorney, Manpower Request, Affidavit of Responsibility and Undertaking and Company Registration.

Regalado said that in reality these fees are shouldered by the overseas Filipino workers (OFW) through placement fees that range from P30,000 to P200,000, where the agency acts as the collector.

In an interview with Nordis, Migrante-Cordillera Spokesperson Flora Belinan criticized the government for profiting from the exploitation of OFWs in Japan and selling Filipinos to other countries.

Belinan said that the bond does not really ensure protection for OFWs in Japan. “Sabi nila yang escrow bond ay para sa proteksyon ng mga OFW pero sa totoo lang hindi naman inaasikaso ng mga agency ang mga naaagrabiado sa Japan,” she stressed. She said that the government is more concerned about the remittances and fees it can collect from OFWs over their safety and welfare.

Moreover she claimed that the Arroyo government is actually peddling Filipino workers not only to Japan but to other countries as well. She added that the government even enters into agreements at the expense of OFWs just to please the host country and encourage them to hire more Filipinos.

“Ang pag-aabroad ang pinakamalaking industriya ng ating gobyerno na wala ni singkong kapital na ginastos pero limpak-limpak ang kita,” Belinan declared. # Kim Quitasol for NORDIS

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