3 HK agencies accused of trafficking Pinoy domestic helpers raided

Hong Kong's Immigration Department and the police's Organized Crime and Triad Bureau and the Immigration Department raided three employment agencies suspected of illegally trafficking thousands of Filipino domestic helpers to other countries.

The South China Morning Post reported, however, that no arrests were made in the inspection of the three agencies referred by the Philippine consulate to authorities for supposedly promising Filipinos high-paying jobs in Moscow.

In exchange for breaking their contracts with their employers in Hong Kong and paying fees from HK$28,000 to HK$43,000, the agencies would arrange the Filipinos' flights to Russia without proper documentation.

Labor attaché Jalilo Dela Torre said almost all victims borrowed the processing fees from financial institutions or loan sharks.

Filipinos deep in debt often stay in Russia to work their mismatched jobs to earn their fees back and face threats from loan sharks, who muscle their families back in the Philippines for payment.

Over 4,000 undocumented Filipinos, most of whom worked as domestic helpers in Hong Kong, are currently working in Russia.

An earlier report by SCMP stated that Hong Kong and Singapore are key centers for trafficking rings to send Filipino helpers to Russia, Brazil, and Turkey.

Focus was put on the plight of Filipino domestic helpers after the Department of Labor and Employment in Manila imposed a three-week ban on the issuance of overseas employment certificates.

The ban was enacted to "cleanse" the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) of employees benefiting from illegal recruitment. — MDM, GMA News