Manila Court decision is grossly unjust to victims of illegal recruitment and OFWs

The MIGRANTE Sectoral Party criticizes the December 14 Manila court decision on certain provisions of Republic Act 8042 as a latest government attack on overseas Filipino workers and their families.

The 19-page decision of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 32 Judge Juan Nabong Jr. on the Migrants Act of 1995 (R. A. 8042) is among the most hideous 'gifts' government has given to OFWs. It reeks of government bias against OFW victims of illegal recruitment activities by both licensed and non-licensed agencies.

The decision was the Court's response to a July 1995 petition by the Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI) seeking to declare the law unconstitutional. The said Court decision described Sections 6, 7, 9, and parts of Section 10 of the law as 'constitutionally infirm.'

This decision favors government-licensed recruitment agencies who wantonly conduct illegal recruitment activities.

According to news reports, the decision says, "the Court finds Sections 6 and 7 (definition of illegal recruitment and the penalties for illegal recruitment) of the law unconstitutional for being oppressive and grossly violative of the process and equal protection rights of owners, operators, officers, directors, and employees of licensed recruitment agencies."

The said provisions and other relevant policies on overseas employment are being willfully circumvented by both licensees and non-licensees. Many licensed recruitment agencies commit illegal recruitment activities. They circumvent RA 8042 on a daily basis. These activities include, overcharging OFW applicants in placement fees, peddling of false overseas employment information and the non-issuance of official receipts for payments collected from OFWs. If the Court has an upright sense of justice, the penalties for licensed recruiters should even be heavier since they are mandated to uphold the law.

Judge Nabong also declared unconstitutional parts of Section 9 of the law (venue of criminal actions arising from illegal recruitment) and a portion of Section 10 (corporate officers, directors, and partners of licensed recruitment agencies are jointly and severally liable with their corporation or partnership for monetary claims and other liabilities).

The Manila Court's decision on the said sections bolsters Sections 29 and 30 of RA 8042 - the deregulation and phase-out of government functions on recruitment activities - which are actually government's abandonment of its role to protect OFWs.

This decision favors the big-time recruiters over OFWs who fall prey to many nefarious schemes of licensed agencies. RA 8042 in itself is a defective law that is made much worse with this anti-OFW court decision. Victims of illegal recruitment acts will have a harder time pursuing cases against the criminal agencies.