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| ConGen Morales at the CORP-Gear-Up Launch |
By Daisy CL Mandap
The consulates of the Philippines and Indonesia are set to announce
their joint effort to get the Hong Kong government to ease interest rates on
loans, seen as one of the reasons why many migrant domestic workers get
enmeshed in debt.
The joint campaign is expected to be unveiled at a press
conference on Monday, Oct. 22.
Earlier, Philippine Consul General Antonio A. Morales spoke
about the initiative in a speech at the launching of a new reintegration
campaign for returning Filipino workers on Oct. 14 at the Philippine Overseas
Labor Office in Wanchai.
“Last week, I and the consul general of Indonesia met with
the Chief Secretary (Matthew Cheung) on the possibility of reducing interest
rates and of course, the possibility of prosecuting those who get their (migrant
workers) passports, Morales said.
He cited the most recent case of about 400 Philippine
passports being seized from the house of a suspected loan shark in North Point.
Last year, more than 800 passports, mostly belonging to Indonesians, were
seized in a separate operation.
Morales sees the high interest rates on loans as one of the
reasons why migrant workers end up saddled in debt.
“Alam ba ninyo na ang interest rate na legal maximum is
60%?,” he said in his speech at the launch of the Comprehensive OFW
Reintegration Program (CORP). “So kung mangungutang kayo ng $1,000, $1,600 ang
babayaran ninyo. Yan ang legal.”
In the case of the loan sharks, police have revealed that
the interest rate charged to migrant workers who are asked to pawn their
passports and employment contracts as security, is 125%.
It’s not known what, if any, steps will be taken by the Hong
Kong government in response to the appeal by the two consulates. However,
someone privy to the talks said the two consuls general were told during their meeting
with the Chief Secretary to step up their education campaign to discourage
heavy borrowing among their workers.
Morales said it is part of his advocacy to get more Filipino
migrant workers to save and plan for their future so they can avoid the debt
trap.
He revealed encounters with some migrants who have been
working in Hong Kong for 20 or more years, including those who volunteer at the
Consulate, who have not saved for their eventual return to the Philippines.
“It is really tragic,” he said.
But he added, it is unavoidable for some to resort to
borrowing due to unforeseen events. “Hindi rin natin mapipigilan ang ating mga
kababayan na mangutang.”
So apart from asking the Hong Kong government to lower the
legal rate of interest for loans and crack down on illicit loans, Morales said
the Consulate has been spearheading effort to provide financial education to
Filipino migrant workers.
Helping OFWs prepare for their eventual return home, as the
CORP program of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration plans to do, is
another way to help them focus on their goal, and avoid unnecessary and
burdensome borrowing.
CORP has partnered with Atikha's "Go,Earn, Accelerate, Return Uplift Philippines" (Gear-Up) program in providing comprehensive reintegration for OFWs in Hong Kong.
