Consul General Antonio A. Morales says his Russian counterpart, Alexander Kozlov, has promised to work with him on finding a solution to the illegal recruitment to Russia of Filipina domestic workers in Hong Kong.The pledge was reportedly made during a courtesy visit by Congen Morales to the Russian Consulate on Jan. 24.
The Philippine Embassy in Moscow says about 5,000 Filipinas are working illegally in Russia, with many of them having arrived there from Hong Kong. The Filipina domestic workers there hold either a work visa issued only to professionals or skilled workers, or short-term commercial visas. There is no visa category for domestic workers in Russia.
ConGen Kozlov reportedly asked for documents on specific cases of illegal recruitment of Filipinas to Russia, and promised to look into them.
ConGen Morales told The SUN on Jan. 30 that he also managed to briefly bring up the same issue with his Turkish counterpart Korhan Kemik when they met also on Jan. 24.
The two sides also discussed ways of improving relations.
Turkey is another favorite destination of Filipina domestic workers in Hong Kong seeking to move to another country. But as with Russia, there is no job category for foreign domestic workers in Turkey.
Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre has been waging an all-out war against recruiters bringing overseas Filipina workers to Russia and Turkey in recent months, amid reports that many end up being exploited in both destinations.
Labatt dela Torre also maintains that third-country deployment of Filipinos is illegal under Philippine laws.
