About 700 protesters gathered on Chater Road on Feb. 8 to hit out at the ban on direct hiring implemented at the start of the year by the Philippines´ Department of Labor and Employment. The group also presented 12,000 signatures it had gathered in three weeks in support of its campaign against the ban.

The protesters, led by SKRAP (Samahan Laban sa Katiwalian ng mga Recruitment Agencies at Patakarang Ban sa Direct Hiring), held banners and chanted slogans as they marched from Central to Harcourt Garden in Admiralty, where the Consulate´s offices are located.
Pictures of President Gloria Arroyo, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque and Labor Attache Romulo Salud were plastered on a big streamer and labeled "Kasabwat ng mga ganid na recruiters. Kaaway ng mga migranteng Pilipino."

Protesters were angry that the new direct hire ban was implemented amid the global financial turmoil.

Pastor Edgar Robles of the Jesus Is Lord Church hit out at the Philippine government´s "new-old" direct hire ban policy, calling it anti-Filipino and anti-overseas Filipino workers. He also asked one of his church members to go onstage and speak about her adverse experience with the ban.

Rosalie of Naga City said she was one of those affected by the ban. Her work contract was terminated after working for three years and six months with her employer. After she found a new employer, she tried to file a new work contract with the Consulate, but was reportedly told that she needed to go through an agency first because she was a terminated worker.

Robles said the ban on direct hiring pushes everyone to go through an agency which collects fees of up to Php120,000.

He then shared the experience of Jenalyn from Pampanga. Jenalyn reportedly came to Hong Kong last Jan. 10, and was terminated on Feb. 7. Going to Hong Kong cost her almost P120,000 in fees. Her expenses were as follows: P61,500, for placement fee; P38,000, for 21 days training (stay in); P 15,000, personality development training for one week; and P1,500, half day TESDA training. These fees did not even include what she paid for her medical fee, examination, fare and other personal expenses.

Robles said that when Jenalyn´s employer told the agency that she didn´t like the helper anymore, she was immediately assured that a new maid will be secured for her.

Jenalyn is reportedly worried about how she could repay the loan her mother had taken out to help finance her job application in Hong Kong.

Among those who joined the protest was Evelyn Aguirre of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente. She said the implementation of the ban will only give OFWs another financial pain. Aguirre knows whereof she speaks: she twice came to HK as a direct hire.

Her sentiment was echoed by another rallyist, Myrna Santos of the Jesus is Lord, who came to work here in 1991 as a direct hire and has worked for the same employer since. She said the government should think of ways to help OFWs instead of adding to their problems.

Meanwhile, Suzette Rostata of A´stig group said that it was her first time to join a rally, and found it fulfilling. She vowed to continue joining rallies that help advance the interests of OFWs like her.

The protesters presented their petition for the scrapping of the direct hire ban, as well as the signatures of the 12,000 people who support it, to Jasper John Galimba, the name hire evaluator of the labor office at the Consulate.

Anti-ban protesters take campaign to radio

Groups protesting the new ban on the direct hiring of Filipinos for work abroad have taken to the airwaves to gather more support for their campaign.

Eman Villanueva, secretary general of United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil), spoke on the Philippines Tonight show on Feb. 6 to call on migrant workers to join the Chater Road protest.

During an interview with host Michael Vincent, Villanueva also talked about what he called as the ill-effects of the direct hire ban.

He said the ban means that the government is washing its hands off its responsibility of protecting the OFWs and passing it on to the recruitment agencies. But the reality, he said, is that the biggest problem of OFWs are the agencies themselves, as most have been overcharging their job applicants for years.

Villanueva said that 98 percent of the OFWs in Hong are victims of overcharging by recruiters, while the remaining two percent are those who came as direct hires.

He said that the few OFWs who were not overcharged will eventually be covered because of the ban. Instead of pushing the ban, he said the government should first resolve the problem of overcharging by recruitment agencies.

He also challenged the labor secretary to exercise his power under Article 18 of the Labor Code which explicitly allows him to suspend or even waive the ban on direct hire. -- EAB