Domestic helpers are accusing the Philippines Consulate of charging them unnecessary and excessive fees. They said the consulate charged for everything, including work contract authentication and mandatory certificates needed to leave the Philippines after a holiday. 'They're extracting from the poor. It's clear they're making foreign migration a business,' said Connie Regalado, chairwoman of United Filipinos in Hong Kong. Her organisation is one of a coalition of 83 groups that is gearing up for a campaign to axe or lower fees. An example of an alleged overcharging: the Consulate requires migrant workers who lose their passport to first obtain an affidavit of loss for $170 before it will issue a new passport for $750. Renewing a passport costs $510. In contrast, the US Consulate charges $462 to replace a lost passport and $308 to renew one. Domestic helpers who go home on holiday must first obtain an 'overseas employment certificate' for $32 from the consulate. They need the certificate to show airport officials in the Philippines so they can return to Hong Kong. Ms Regalado said the certificate was unnecessary as the passports already showed the domestic helpers had been allowed to work here. Last year, the consulate began asking migrant workers to apply for an 'overseas workers welfare administration card', an obsolete identification card, Ms Regalado said. And for every employment contract, they must get the consulate to authenticate it - for a fee of $255. 'We're already paying income taxes to the Philippines and our remittances to the Philippines benefit the economy there. It's more than enough,' Ms Regalado said. Vice-consul Raul Hernandez defended the consulate's practices, saying the fees were necessary. The consulate was merely enforcing the rules.
