BY DANIE MAE FAJARDO-DELA CRUZ
THE Philippine government has removed the performance bond levied against Singaporean recruitment agencies and employers hiring Filipino domestic workers.
According to Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople, the removal of the said requirement was “in recognition of the deep and abiding friendship” between the Philippines and Singapore.
Ople announced the abolition at her courtesy call on Singapore’s Manpower Minister Tan See Leng during the recent state visit of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to the prosperous city-state.
Minister Tan welcomed the abolishment and reiterated Singapore’s commitment to protect the well-being of migrant workers in Singapore.
In a joint press statement, the Philippines Department of Migrant Workers and Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower also noted the continued efforts to eliminate human trafficking.
The Philippines and Singapore belong to the Tier 1 List of the 2022 United States Trafficking in Persons Report, which means both countries have undertaken significant efforts to fight human trafficking.
The performance bond levied against Singaporean recruitment agencies and employers specifically for domestic workers was an offshoot of the Flor Contemplacion case in 1995.
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has a good working relationship with our Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Singapore. There never was an occasion for the POLO to garnish the bond in favor of an aggrieved worker in the past because complaints are promptly handled by the MOM which strictly monitors its accredited recruitment agencies,” said Secretary Ople.
Minister Tan described the lifting of the performance bond as “Christmas in September”. They have been lobbying for it to be removed these past 27 years.
As of December 2021, there are an estimated 215,155 Filipinos who live and work in Singapore.
In his bilateral talks with Ople, Minister Tan affirmed the commitment of his ministry and the Singaporean government to protect the rights of all Filipino workers employed in the city-state./PN
