A Filipina worker who paid $46,000 to an employment agency
to get her an employer in Canada
has sought the help of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office to recover her
money after the job didn’t push through at the last minute.
POLO’s officer-in-charge Antonio Villafuerte said the worker
had asked for help in getting a refund on Jul 21.
Polo OIC Tony Villafuerte has promised help in recovering the money |
Villafuerte said the first thing he did was to check whether
the agency is accredited, so POLO could have jurisdiction over the case.
“Mabuti na lang accredited ang agency para may power tayong
ipatawag kung bakit siya nag-recruit para sa third country at puwedeng pagsabihan,”
he said, adding he hoped a deal could be worked out.
But no date has yet been set for the meeting.
He said the worker showed him a document in which the prospective
employer admitted neglect in allowing the agreement to fall through. He said he
was traveling abroad and forgot about the contract until the filing period had lapsed.
The loss, however, was borne by the Filipina, as she had already paid the placement fee of $46,000, Villafuerte said.
“Siguro kung hindi pumalpak sa employer ay diretso na iyon,”
he said.
Villafuerte said he is wondering why cases such as this still
happen despite newly arrived workers being advised during every post-arrival
orientation seminar, or PAOS, against falling for third-country recruitment,
which the Philippine government bans.
“Sa human trafficking, nire-relate namin yung experience ng
Hong Kong sa third-country deployment,” the OIC said.
He said the workers are briefed about the hazards of
third-country recruitment and human trafficking, with actual victims of such malpractices
speaking about their ordeal.
Outgoing Labatt Jalilo dela Torre waged a relentless campaign against human traffickers and illegal recruiters |
Three years ago, an illegal recruiter attracted several
Filipinas with job offers in Moscow
and other Russian cities, for which they paid as much as US$3,000 each for
placement.
It turned out there were no employers waiting for them and
that they had to go out on their own to find employers. For their shelter, they
stayed in a cramped room in the recruiter’s apartment with little food and
insufficient winter clothes and beddings.
Many of the victims have been repatriated with the help of
the Philippine embassy in Moscow ,
some have gone home on their own, while the others are still playing
hide-and-seek with authorities while doing part-time work.
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