Church joins chorus against migrant workers airport tax

A church-based group has added its voice calling for the outright scrapping of an airport tax for overseas Filipino workers.
Saying the P550 terminal fee would be an added burden to overseas Filipino workers, Bishop Ruperto Santos, head of the Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP-ECMI), said the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) should first consider revising its airport systems and policies instead of passing the financial burden to migrants.
Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), he said, are already saddled with having to leave their families and work abroad and it would be asking too much from them if they would have to bear the trouble of paying terminal fees whenever they exit the country.
On February 1 the MIAA started implementing its so-called Integrated Passenger Service Charge, a restructured schedule of fees imposed on all passengers flying out of any of the three terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
MIAA claims the objective of the revised charges is to streamline and expedite the processing of passengers, but OFW groups such as the #No to 550 Coalition say otherwise.
Under the new setup, the terminal fee is already integrated into the plane tickets of passengers.
But according to the coalition, requiring OFWs, as well as Muslim pilgrims and accredited athletes, to shell out P550 is “illegal” because under the law, these distinct set of passengers are exempted from paying such by virtue of Republic Act (R.A.) 10022 or the Migrant Workers Act of 1995.
RA 10022 recognises the contributions and sacrifices of OFWs to the country’s economy, and thus, as a gesture of gratitude, exempts them from paying terminal fees and other similar charges related to their travel.
The MIAA had said that it is not actually requiring OFWs to pay terminal fees.
MIAA chief Angel Honrado said OFWs have the option of not paying the charges but according to the #No to 550 Coalition, the migrant workers would have to queue at the Landbank counter at the airport and show their OFW certificates to reimburse the fees they had paid in advance.
Filipino politicians have aired their support to moves to scrap the terminal fee.
Senator Nancy Binay, said she believes that the implementation of the P550 terminal fee “is a disservice to the OFWs.”
“I urge my fellow senators to investigate this issue and help out in ensuring that our OFWs be spared this additional burden. They already have enough on their plates, they don’t need to worry about airport fees,” Binay said.