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| Notice of closure posted on the door of Emry's Worldwide House shop. |
The Philippine Overseas Labor Office has suspended the processing of foreign domestic helpers’ contracts by Emry’s Employment Agency, amid reports the biggest recruiter of Filipino maids into Hong Kong was offering jobs in Britain and Canada.
Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre said he ordered the suspension on June 20, and asked Emry’s to explain in writing within 5 days why it should not be penalized for violating Philippine laws against third country deployment.
But Emry’s proprietor Ester Ylagan reportedly asked for a further 14 days to explain their side, and also asked for a copy of the law against the said recruitment practice. “If she (Ylagan) does not explain satisfactorily, we will endorse the case to POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Authority) for either suspension or cancellation (of accreditation),” said de la Torre.
In the meantime, he issued the sternest warning yet against the recruitment of Filipinos for jobs outside Hong Kong.
In a Facebook post on his own wall and POLO on June 27, the labor chief said:
“OFWs WHO HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED BY THIRD COUNTRY RECRUITERS OR WHO HAVE ALREADY PAID ARE ADVISED TO BRING THE MATTER TO THE PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL, OR THE PHILIPPINE OVERSEAS LABOR OFFICE (POLO) OR TO THE POLICE AUTHORITIES”.
In another post on the same day, Labatt de la Torre reiterated that third country deployment is illegal under Philippine laws. He warned overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong against agencies that “advertise for jobs in the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries”.
He also told The SUN in an interview that he would personally draft the formal complaint by job applicants, and endorse the same to the Hong Kong Labour Department and the HK Police, if they would come to his office for help.
POLO’s move came as more Filipino helpers sought a refund of up to $15,000 they had paid directly to Emry’s owner Ester Ylagan for the promised jobs in London and unspecified parts of Canada.
Ylagan herself admitted to The SUN in an earlier interview that the number of applicants was around 500, and that she did not issue any receipt for the money they paid, but only noted each payment in a ledger she was keeping.
She also claimed to have remitted all the payments, around HK$2 million in all, to her partner in London she knew only as “William Clinton James” and “William Clinton Erich”. But she did not offer proof of any remittance being made to the person. Curiously, Ylagan also said she had not met the said person, and was communicating with him only via email.
A cursory check on FB showed recently opened acounts for each name, but no profile pictures apart from some random shots of Filipino workers who were supposedly working at “London Bridge Hospital”. Another shot was of Filipinos lining up at the visa counters of HK Immigration.
Following an inquiry by The SUN on why the owner of the accounts was not showing his face, both were locked so public posts could no longer be made. The SUN’s comment was also deleted.
On Sunday, June 26, at least two applicants successfully got their money back after agreeing to sign a quitclaim offered by Ylagan, but the others were not as lucky.
A video recording surreptitiously made by one of the applicants and shown to The SUN shows Ylagan telling those asking for their money back that they were giving up on the chance to improve their lot by quitting ahead of the promised deployment by October.
Two of those who insisted on a refund were made to feel remorse.
“Make my day...Alalahanin ninyo, sa ka-kawithdraw ninyo I lost money. Masaya ba kayo ng ganyan? Na I worked for your documents, tapos wi-withdrawin ninyo? But if you are happy like that, sige. Kasi ang pera ninyo, naipadala ko na,” Ylagan told them,
De la Torre said that so far, POLO has brokered the return by Ylagan of between $10,000 and $15,000 paid by eight other Filipino job applicants.
All were also asked to sign the quitclaim affidavit with Ylagan, which stated that the money they paid was for the processing of a “Foreign Immigrant Clearance Certificate” and “Foreign Employment Certificate”.
However, checks made by POLO with the Philippine Embassy in London and by The SUN with the Philippine Consulate in British Columbia, Canada, showed that there were no such documents.
Philippine officials at both posts also warned of the strict immigration rules applied to foreign workers seeking jobs there, which have become even more stringent lately. In Canada, for example, no placement fee should be collected from a job applicant, and no job application could be processed without a labour market impact assessment (LMIA, formerly LMO) being obtained beforehand.
In both countries, only a very limited number of posts are available, and they are mostly for caregivers or nurses. Factory or low-grade office work, which were among those reportedly promised by Ylagan, are definitely not available for imported workers.
While the case is being investigated, Labatt de la Torre warned Ylagan against continuing the recruitment, but this was apparently not heeded. A number of those who trooped to Worldwide House where Emry’s office and that of its affiliate business, Mike’s Secretarial Services, are located, reported seeing Ylagan accepting more applicants for the apparently non-existent jobs.
