THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will file the necessary charges if airport authorities still refuse to stop the illegal collection of terminal fees for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
“We are now mulling over legal action against them if they will still not heed to our demand,” Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III told the BusinessMirror in an interview.
However, the labor chief said they will only consider this as a last resort.
“I will try to speak to [Transport Secretary Arthur P.] Tugade about this during the Cabinet meeting. I hope he will listen to our requests,” Bello said.
Bello also said in a news briefing on Monday that Labor Undersecretary Claro A. Arellano will send a second letter to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) to emphasize the DOLE’s opinion.
This letter follows the one the DOLE sent to both agencies last year that until now remained unanswered.
Bello reiterated that the collection of terminal fees and travel tax to OFWs is in violation of the provisions of the Republic Act 10022, or the amended Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995.
“OFWs are exempted from the fees under the law,” Bello said.
The DOLE issued the statement after the Miaa recently said it already amassed P500 million worth of underfunded terminal fees from OFWs.
Bello was irked with the Miaa report, since it was supposed to have already started last year the automatic exemption OFWs from the International Passenger Service Charge (IPSC).
Implemented in 2015, the IPSC is the integration of the P550 terminal fee with the fare for international flights.
Advocates were against such fees, since these forced OFWs to pay the terminal fees even if, by law, they are supposed to be exempted from it.
A system was put in place in the airport to allow OFWs to refund the terminal fee. Very few do so, since they are usually rushing to catch their flights or are unaware of it, according to Bello.
Bello said the P500 million collected from the country’s modern-day heroes should be transferred to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) as the manager of trust funds of OFWs for safekeeping. He said OFWs then could collect the amount during their free time in the OWWA.
“All they have to do is present their OEC [overseas employment certificate] and the OWWA will refund the amount,” Bello said.