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| Consul Saret inspects the 1,400 passports seized from Cheers-OFC lending company (file photo) |
Many Filipinos who are in the habit of using their passports
as collateral for loans appear to have learned their lesson since the police
raid on the lending company, OFC, on Jun 5
last year.
According to Consul Paulo Saret, head of the Consulate’s
assistance to nationals section, there has been a noticeable drop in such cases
since the police seized 1,400 Philippine passports from the Sheung
Wan-based financing company.
“Medyo after nung 1,400 natin, paisa-isa na lang, mga ‘privateers’
na lang,” said Consul Saret in an interview on Monday, Mar 3.
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He was referring to small, unlicensed operators who lend
cash at no less than 10% interest per month to mostly domestic workers, and
collect their passports as guarantee of repayment.
“Kung Pilipino rin yung accomplice (lender), sinasabihan
namin ng ‘If you will not stop it, we’ll be constrained to report to the Hong Kong authorities and apektado ang lahat ng kabuhayan
nyo’,” Saret said.
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| Consul Saret says only small unlicensed money lenders still collect passports as security for loan |
The raid on OFC had put hundreds of Filipino borrowers at
risk of losing their jobs, after the Consulate stood firm in its decision not
to allow them to get a replacement passport easily.
But because of the big number of Filipino workers involved,
the Consulate obtained permission from the Department of Foreign Affairs to
waive its previous requirement of making the borrower apply for a new document
in Manila
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Instead, the borrowers were made to sign an undertaking that
they would not hock their passports again, or they would not be issued another
one in future.
But those who needed their passports immediately, as in the
case of those who had to renew their working visas, were forced to secure travel documents for the meantime, adding up to the cost. They also had to go to the police to explain how they lost their passports before being cleared to apply for visa renewal.
At least two of the borrowers who were fired by their
employers for pawning their passports were also issued one-way travel documents
so they could return home.
“Parang malaking bagay po yung OFC case na decided by the
court, after that wala nang legal lending entity na naireklamo sa atin,” the
consul said.
“Yung mga privateers naman, in the first place, hindi naman
sila talaga allowed to engage in that business, so puwede silang ireklamo
anytime kasi wala silang license eh,” he added.
Cheers Holding Company, which operated OFC, was fined
$10,000 after admitting a violation of a hardly-known Hong
Kong law that prohibits money lending companies from collecting
passports and employment contracts as securities for a loan.
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Cheers admitted a count of “accepting security for a loan in
a prohibited form” in Eastern
Court
Its sole owner and director, Wong King Yiu Wilson, was bound
over for two years as part of a plea bargain, according to prosecutors.
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