Longtime OFW supporter Susan “Toots” Ople recently hit the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) for their “relentless violation” of the Migrant Workers Act because of the airport terminal fees associated with the plane tickets.
In her own words, Ople strongly condemned the practice saying “There is a continuing injustice going on when OFWs are forced to line up to refund the P550 that they are not even supposed to pay under our law. Some have decided to forego their refunds for fear of missing their flights. Why treat our OFWs this way?”
Ople further clarified that under the law, OFWs should be exempted from paying terminal fees (or the International Passenger Service Charge) in the first place. However, the system currently implemented is that all those who purchase tickets online and abroad are required to pay the said fees. As a result, OFWs eventually have to stand in line at the airports to claim their reimbursements.
Formerly a Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) undersecretary and a senatorial aspirant for the 2016 elections, Ople is now a part of a coalition of OFW groups that filed a case at the Pasay City Regional Trial Court.
Although MIAA has issued the Memorandum Circular Number 8 in 2015 to change the system, Ople said that the action is not enough.
“How can a mere memorandum amend a law that has been in effect for 19 years? What happens to the non-refunded OFW-paid terminal fees? How much in non-refunded terminal fees have been raised since MC No 8 took effect? Millions of OFWs around the world deserve to know these answers,” asked Ople.
John Monterona, regional coordinator of the Migrante-Middle East (M-ME) group, expressed disappointment about the practice. He said “The mere collection of terminal fee on [an] OFW is an act that violates a special law. And it can’t be corrected by the MIAA refund provision.”
source : InterAksyon, abs-cbn,