The SUN HK : 8 Filipinas who passed on passports for loan left empty-handed

Runners of the illicit 'passport-for-loan' deals hang out around Statue Square in Central

If you get desperate for money, try going around Statue Square in Central on a Sunday, and chances are, a runner for loan sharks will approach you with an offer you a loan in exchange for your passport.

This is what MM, a Filipina, revealed, as she, along with seven other fellow domestic helpers asked for help after their passports were taken, but the loan promised them was not handed over by one of three runners they met on Oct. 29.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

Angered by what happened and scared that they could get into trouble for pawning their passports which is forbidden under the law in both the Philippines and Hong Kong, the eight workers are set to go to the Consulate on Sunday to ask for help in recovering them.

They also want sanctions imposed on the runner they identified as Jemalyn and whose HKID copy is with them, who allegedly ran away with their money.

I-CLICK DITO!

Their plight was first brought to the attention of the FDW group, Social Justice for Migrant Workers by MM, who shared a copy of the HKID of the alleged fraudster on their Facebook page, saying: “Itong babae na may HKID na ito (ay) kinuha ang passport naming at kinuha ang pera. Isang buwan na ang nakakalipas. Sana matulungan niyo po kami at mga trabaho na naming nakasalalay (dito).”

Pindutin para sa detalye

(This woman with this HKID took our passports, and also the money. It’s been a month since. I hope someone would help us as this has put our jobs on the line).

MM said they all knew that it was illegal to pawn their passports but they were desperate for money. In her case, she said she could not meet the monthly payment for the loan she took from a financing company and was scared that collectors would pester her with phone calls.

PINDUTIN DITO!

MM said she agreed to borrow $2,500 from the runner’s financier, said to be a Filipina married to a local Chinese, and pay back $3,500 in less than a month, or a 40% interest.

To secure the loan, she turned over her passport to one of the runners, who assured her that the money would be transferred to her e-wallet. However, no transfer was made to her or to the other seven Filipinas who surrendered their passports at the same time.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

As a consequence, collectors from the loan company they borrowed from started harassing them with phone calls so that one of the borrowers was fired by her employer recently and she was forced to return to the Philippines on a one-way travel document.

Last Sunday, MM said she was set on calling the police to complain against the people who left them with no cash and no passport, but was asked to reconsider by the first runner who in exchange, promised to testify against the one who fled with their money.

The Consulate has repeatedly warned that it is illegal to pawn passports

Their effort to recover their passports could, however, be futile.

According to the Philippines’ Foreign Service Circular No 214-99 issued on Aug 19, 1999 all passports used as guarantee for loans or debts are “automatically cancelled” even if the passport holder reports the document as lost.

BASAHIN ANG DETALYE

This means that once cancelled, the passport holder will have to apply for a new one, which will not only cost more than a regular renewal, but will also come with a stern warning that a second offence could lead to the person being perpetually barred from acquiring a travel document.