Lawmaker underscores alleged abuse of OFWs in South Korea, Hong Kong   

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker has raised the alarm over the alleged abuse and exploitation of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in South Korea and Hong Kong.

During the plenary session at the House of Representatives on Monday, Rep. Marissa "Del Mar" Magsino (OFW Party List) said that approximately 60,000 OFWs in South Korea are facing issues such as illegal recruitment, human trafficking, contract switching, investment scams and labor standard violations.

The lone OFW representative in Congress met with community leaders of OFWs in South Korea, the Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Ma. Theresa Dizon-De Vega and Labor Attaché Ma. Celeste Valderrama to discuss the plight of OFWs in the host country. 

Allegedly perpetuating the said exploitation, according to Magsino, are the arrangements made between local government units (LGUs) of South Korea and the Philippines. 

"There are complaints against recruitment agencies in the country which facilitate the hiring of OFWs, mainly artists, entertainers and cultural workers, who only fall victims to prostitution and human trafficking," Magsino said in her privilege speech. 

She added that OFWs under the Seasonal Workers Program (SWP) in South Korea do not undergo a screening process conducted by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), "leaving a loophole for possible abuses and anomalies."   

"[N]o agency, group or private citizen, except for the local governments involved, is permitted to engage in any activity related to the seasonal worker program, including signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), seasonal worker recruitment, selection [and] deployment," the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines said in a 2020 statement.

South Korea's Seasonal Workers Program

According to the Ministry of Justice Korea Immigration Service (MOJ), the SWP offers agricultural work to farmers from other countries to "address chronic labor shortages" in South Korea for three (C-4 Visa) to five months (E-8 Visa). 

The Philippines is among the countries that have signed a MOU with partner LGUs to participate in the SWP. 

Municipalities that have made LGU-to-LGU arrangements in South Korea are Batangas, Bauang, Bocaue, Cordova, Dinagat Islands, Dumaguete City, Lubao, Rosales, San Juan, San Jose, San Leonardo, Silang, Tarlac and Ternate.

In a 2023 release, the MOJ allocated an additional 12,869 foreign seasonal workers to 107 LGUs in South Korea in May. This is on top of the 26,788 seasonal workers assigned to rural areas during the first half of 2022. 

Among those workers are from the Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga. In February, 44 seasonal workers were deployed to Goryeong-gun as part of the 139 Filipinos agreed to be sent to the host country.

In April, Dumaguete City dispatched 40 seasonal workers to Yeongdong-gun, as a component of a cohort of 150 seasonal workers assigned to tend the host country's grape farms in 2023. 

Meanwhile, Dinagat Islands sent 74 seasonal workers to Pyeongchang County in April, as per an MOU between Governor Nilo Demerey Jr. and Pyeongchang County, aimed at deploying around 2,000 farmers and fishermen for year-long employment in South Korea.

A 161-member delegation of seasonal workers from Batangas also flew to Chuncheon City and Hoengseong County from March to May to study agriculture technology. These workers came from 32 LGUs, the Batangas Provincial Information Office said. 

In March, the Municipality of Bocaue in Bulacan signed an MOU with Samcheok City for the program, agreeing to send 130 of its residents to serve as seasonal workers in the host country.

The Philippines has already dispatched several batches of Filipino seasonal workers to partner LGUs in South Korea, even in previous years. They are among the hundreds to thousands of OFWs in South Korea potentially confronting the alleged abuse and violation of contract under the SWP, as Magsino claimed.

Illegal recruitment, investment scams and extortion

The Korea Herald recently reported an incident where a Filipino seasonal worker was compelled to pay a hefty sum of 10 million won, approximately P430,000, as downpayment to a broker in order to secure employment in South Korea. 

"Most of the municipalities have signed MOUs with local governments from sending countries overseas, but since they are developing countries, brokers are involved during the selection process due to corrupt civil servants [there]," a municipality official who requested anonymity told The Korea Herald.

About 56.5% of foreign seasonal workers who entered South Korea in 2022 had illegally left their jobs to seek other employment opportunities in the country, Rep. Cho Jung-hoon said in the report. As a consequence, they become illegal residents for not abiding by the contract or by dealing with brokers. 

But prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, OFWs have become victims of brokers from both their home country and South Korea, according to a 2020 report of the Korean news outlet Hankyoreh.  

Instead of earning almost two million won, or about P85,000, a month for harvesting rice and cabbage in Haenam County, two Filipino workers from Santa Rosa were left with less than a million won because of expenses paid to a South Korean broker. 

Both Filipino seasonal workers inquired with the Haenam County Office, only to be told that an agreement was made in their contract with Santa Rosa to prevent workers from becoming illegal residents.

Warning

Whether engaging with brokers or not, news about Filipinos falling victim to this illegal practice is not new in the Philippines. On July 21, the Office of the Mayor of Silang, Cavite issued a public advisory to warn their residents of "deceitful individuals" who bypass applicants for the SWP with a downpayment fee.  

"We want to remind all that the Seasonal Farm Workers Program is an initiative between LGU to LGU, and is exclusive only for the residents of Silang," Silang Mayor Alston Kevin Anarna said. 

Magsino said she has reached out to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and DMW to request an investigation into the alleged abuses experienced by Filipino seasonal workers in South Korea.

A proposal to work as household service workers in South Korea

In addition to the investigations to be conducted by the DILG, DMW and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the alleged abuse and exploitation of OFWs in South Korea, Rep. Cho Jung-hoon has proposed a legislation that will allow migrant workers to work as household service workers in their country.  

Magsino met with Cho in her visit to the National Assembly of South Korea. She said the proposal is commendable, but the lower minimum wages is a problem that needs to be addressed in order to safeguard the rights of Filipino household service workers.

"[I]t is also vital to consider the readiness of employers and institutions in South Korea, in taking in household service workers with respect to guaranteeing their workers' fair wages and just treatment of them," she added. 

Contract termination, pawning of passports in Hong Kong

A week after her visit to South Korea, Magsino traveled to Hong Kong to meet with Philippine Consulate General Raly Tejada to review the working conditions of over 200,000 OFWs in the country. 

Among the pertinent issues discussed are the termination of contracts and pawning of Philippine passports. 

In the meeting, Magsino detailed her concerns on the proposed regulations on contract termination in which migrant household workers will be prevented from leaving their employers to seek other jobs. For Hong Kong authorities, regulating the termination of contracts will curb job-hopping of domestic workers. 

Consequently, the proposal will require employment agencies to inform domestic workers that applying for a change of employer in Hong Kong will not "normally" be approved within the two-year contract period.

Some exceptions for a premature termination are the transfer, migration or death of a Filipino domestic worker. Included as well are proven cases of abuse and exploitation.

"These regulatory proposals from the authorities of the host territory could potentially disadvantage our OFWs," she said.

Several Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong have reported being sexually harassed or abused by their employers. One took her case to court in 2021, convicting her employer of his crimes against her. Another had her employer sentenced to jail and barred from hiring Filipino domestic workers for life in 2022. 

This are just among the many reasons why OFWs would leave their employers in Hong Kong. 

In March, members of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-Migrante HK) protested against the proposed regulations, urging lawmakers to recognize the inhumane working conditions that lead to potential job-hopping. 

"[If] we are treated justly and humanely, our working conditions [are] good and our rights as migrant workers inside our employer's household [are upheld] and protected, no migrant domestic worker will be forced to terminate a contract and we will not think of leaving our job," Dolores Balladares, chairperson of UNIFIL-Migrante HK, said. 

Magsino said that Tejada will coordinate with the Hong Kong government to address the concerns she raised and align their efforts with the OFW Party List. 

And on top of all the alleged abuse and exploitation several OFWs are familiar with, Magsino was also informed of the "rampant pawning of Philippine passports" in Hong Kong for material gain. 

In 2019, Hong Kong News reported that 1,400 Philippine passports were recovered from an illegal money lending firm, according to former Philippine Consulate General Antonio Morales. 

This violates Section 11 of the Philippine Passport Act of 1996 which states that the passport is government property and should "not be surrendered to any person or entity" aside from the government or possessor.  

For those who have pawned or will pawn Philippine passports, Magsino said the Philippine consulate officials in Hong Kong will impose strict measures such as the non-assistance to OFWs involved in the scheme.

The OFW Party List will continue to engage in official visits to other countries where many OFWs live, Magsino said. Some of these countries are Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore and countries in the Middle East and Europe. —Intern, Dominique Nicole Flores