MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 17, 2012) – A Filipino migrant’s rights group feared that a hike in government fees and other documentations would have a huge impact on Filipinos who are working abroad.
President Benigno Aquino signed the Administrative Order No. 31 which took effect this month. The rationalization of fees aims to provide improved services of various government agencies.
Migrante-Middle East said the government is imposing unreasonable increases in government fees without considering its effect on ordinary Filipino workers who are sacrificing abroad to send money back home to support their family.
“The Aquino administration should stop using ‘effective government services’ as a reason or guise in order to impose unjustified and unnecessary government fees and charges to its own people, including overseas Filipino workers and their families,” said John Leonard Monterona, the group’s regional coordinator.
He said Aquino’s Administrative Order No. 31 is anti-OFW. “We, OFWs and our dependents are already bleeding dry from unnecessary government fees and charges impose to us,” Monterona said.
He said OFWs are now being charged as much as P30,000 for documentation needed for deployment formalities and this is on top of the placement fee equivalent to one month salary.
OFWs, he said, has also to pay documents needed for abroad such as authentication of birth certificate, National Bureau of Investigation clearance, authentication of school credentials, passport application or renewal, community tax certificates, and fees collected by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Home Development Mutual Fund, Philippine Health Insurance, and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration among others.
“President Aquino is so insensitive to the economic hardship of OFWs and their families, and the millions of ordinary Filipino workers and the urban poor. We call on our fellow OFWs and families to join our campaign calling for the scrapping of Aquino’s anti-OFW and anti-people Administrative Order No. 31,” Monterona said.
20