SFA-AGR-792-07                                                                                   

PHILIPPINE EMBASSY IN BEIJING WARNS

ON ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT OF DOMESTIC HELPERS FOR MAINLAND CHINA

22 October 2007 - The Philippine Embassy in Beijing warns all Filipinos planning to work in mainland China about a scam being perpetrated by illegal recruiters in the Philippines and China that promises non-existent jobs as domestic helpers in China for a fee of more than PhP100,000.00.

In a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sonia Cataumber Brady stressed that foreign nationals are not allowed to hold jobs as housekeepers/domestic helpers/nannies in mainland China.

"Illegal recruiters continue to victimize Filipinos, which has resulted in the increasing number of our countrymen coming and staying in China with inappropriate documentation," Ambassador Brady said. "Filipinos who are promised jobs as domestic helpers in China are always in danger of being arrested because foreign nationals are not allowed to work as domestic helpers in China."

The Embassy said victims usually pay up to PhP100,000 each for their plane tickets and tourist visas which would enable them to work as domestic helpers in China. Once in China, many of the victims have resorted to using visa agents in order to extend the validity of their visas. With irregular jobs, some of these victims were unable to reclaim their passports because they do not have the money to pay for the agents' services of up to 4,000 yuan (PhP24.000).

"An inspection conducted in June 2007 by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau in Maquanying, an area where a number of Filipinos live in Beijing, resulted in the arrest of two Filipinos because they could not show to authorities a legal permit to work, as their passports were in the hands of visa agents, and the confiscation of about 17 Philippine passports with suspicious visas," Ambassador Brady said. "As a result, our kababayans may be deported for staying and working illegally in China."

The Embassy has been informed by Chinese officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Security Bureau that domestic service employment in China is closed to foreigners. The Embassy has been warning Filipinos not to accept job offers from recruiters as domestic helpers in China because it is unlawful to work as a domestic helper in China. END

/esgret