A Review of RA 10022 and the Accessibility of Free Legal Assistance Offered to Overseas Domestic Worker Illegal Recruitment Victims bound for Hong Kong

Abstract

This research looks into whether or not Section 8 of RA 10022, which provides free legal assistance to OFW illegal recruitment victims, is effective and accessible to all household worker who was illegally recruited as they were bound for Hong Kong. This paper investigates whether the socioeconomic status of overseas domestic workers affect their justice-seeking behavior against illegal recruitment. Data were collected from a government agency (POEA) and a migrant organization, both of which have long been committed towards the protection of rights and welfare of OFWs around the world. This paper utilizes Rawls’ Second Principle of Justice as Fairness as a gauge whether or not the free legal assistance offered by POEA is equally accessible to all illegal recruitment victims, while Constructivism was employed in order to understand IR victims’ perception of illegal recruitment and their respective illegal recruitment cases. The findings show that: 1) migrant organizations are huge players with regards to providing legal assistance; 2) access to the free legal assistance offered is determined by one’s socioeconomic status, and; 3) IR victims’ perception of illegal recruitment and their respective illegal recruitment case also plays a role as to whether or not they will pursue their case, with ‘victim indifference’ as well as victim shaming occurring in some cases.