Aquino urged to respect law on OFWs’ exemption from airport terminal fee

MANILA, Philippines—Migrant rights group Migrante-Middle East has urged President Aquino to respect a provision of a special law that exempts overseas Filipino workers from paying the P550 airport terminal fee.

“President Aquino, in his capacity as chief executive of the Philippine government, has the responsibility to implement a law or a provision of a special law, in this case Republic Act 10022, the amended Migrant Workers Act of 2010. RA 10022 mandated the exemption of OFWs from paying airport terminal fees,” said M-ME regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona.

On July 1, 2014, an agreement between the

AP FILE PHOTO

Authority (MIAA) and airline carriers was inked stipulating the integration of the collection of International Passenger Service Charge, otherwise known as the terminal fee, into the airfare cost.

Under the agreement, which was supposed to have been implemented last Oct. 1 but was moved to Nov. 1, airline and travel agencies will integrate the P550 terminal fee in the price of airline tickets for all international passengers, including OFWs.

The MIAA earlier assured the public that the amount of terminal fee collected from the OFWs would be refunded upon presentation of an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) at the terminal upon their arrival.

But the migrant rights group did not buy the MIAA’s assurance, saying the “pay first, refund later” scheme was a “direct attack on OFWs common sense,” Monterona stressed.

The group also called on legislators to question the legality of the DOTC-MIAA-airline companies agreement.