Syrian employers are asking up to $10,000 for each Filipino domestic helper before they are released to the Philippine government for repatriation to Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.

DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said the amount covered the processing and deployment fees paid for by the employers when they hired the Filipino workers.

“Negotiation is very tedious because we have to talk to our employers who are asking $4,000 to about $10,000 now,” Hernandez told a press briefing.

Hernandez said the primary reasons for the increase in the amount being demanded by the employers were the rising demand for Filipino household helpers and the difficulty of bringing them into violence-plagued Syria.

1,000 Filipinos scheduled for repatriation

More than 1,000 Filipinos are scheduled for repatriation to Manila pending negotiations with their employers, Hernandez said.

 “We really need to negotiate and we have to tell them how much we can afford,” he said.
Illegal recruitment of Filipinos in Syria is another problem for the government, Hernandez said.

Fresh batches of newly-recruited Filipino workers are arriving in Syria as the security condition there deteriorates by the day.

“This is very worrisome,” Hernandez said as he called on Filipinos seeking jobs abroad not to accept offers of employment to Syria.

“We are asking our people not to be duped, not to be fooled by illegal recruitment agencies who make money out of them and who are willing to risk their lives just to get some money out of their deployment,” he said.

The Syrian government announced in March that it will no longer allow the entry of newly-recruited Filipino workers following a labor ban imposed by Manila in December 2011.

However, illegal recruitment has continued amid a travel ban imposed by the Philippine government since the bloody rebellion against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad erupted last year.

Flights getting scarce

Hernandez also expressed concern that flights out of Syria are getting scarce due to the increasing hostilities.

“There are lesser flights now to other point to the Middle East then to Manila,” he said.
While exit routes remain open, Hernandez said Filipinos should avail of the free repatriation being offered by the government.

The government said it will bear the cost of airfare to the Philippines for free under its mandatory repatriation program.

Around 10,000 Filipinos, mostly domestic helpers, are working in Syria, the DFA said.
 
Most of them have refused to be evacuated, citing lack of jobs in the Philippines.

Hernandez said the DFA will not stop until all Filipino workers in Syria are moved to safety.

“We will continue on with our repatriation to get our people out of harm’s way and keep them safe in our country,” he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has declared the armed hostilities in Syria as a “full-blown civil war” as the violence is more widespread in the country.  - Michaela del Callar, VVP, GMA News