The Philippines, Inconsistent On Its "No Placement Fee" Policy According to World Bank

One of many problems many Filipino facing when they decide to work abroad is the "placement fee".

This is even if the rule of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) with regards to "No Placement Fee" hasn't changed yet.

Which means, No Placement Fee for hired domestic workers, caregivers, and seafarers as well as OFWs heading to the United States of America through H2B visa, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Netherlands.

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Placement fees for all other OFWs are allowed, but only for one month's salary and only after an employment contract is signed.

But just recently, in Business Mirror article, the World Bank (WB) noted, that the Philippine implementation of "No Placement Fee" policy for OFWs remains inconsistent.

World Bank explains that placement fees paid by OFWs vary from as low as $5 in the Philippines to Saudi Arabia corridor, but as much as $100 for the Philippines to Qatar job destination.

Read: New Zealand, in need of 5,000 Filipino Skilled Workers - No Placement Fee!

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According to World Bank, the enforcement of "No-Fee Policy" seems to vary across corridors and recruitment agencies avoid no-fee policy by imposing additional charges for training.

Aside from this, World Bank noted that recruitment fees differ in terms of OFWs gender. Female OFWs in Saudi Arabia and Qatar pay lower recruitment fees compared to their male counterparts.

The bank added that these are an indication that the Philippines policy on placement fees are not implemented as expected.

Read: OFWs Are You Infavor of Marriage Dissolution Bill?

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Lawyers admit, Annulment in the Philippines is very expensive

Getting married is expensive in the Philippines, as well as getting out of marriage.

Aside from costly process, annulment of marriage is also a physically and mentally exhausting according to Business Mirror lawyer Marjorie de Castro.

She said, if you are a petitioner in an annulment case, it will take a lot of your time as well as your resources.

A petitioner is a person who makes a formal application to a court for a writ, judicial action in a lawsuit.

“The first step, of course, is to consult a lawyer if a married person is thinking of having his or her marriage annulled,”

Some lawyers charge their client per hour, while others offer a package which includes attorney’s fees, appearance fees, and other legal fees, de Castro noted.


Business mirror quoted, renowned family lawyer Lorna Kapunan who said, some psychologists would charge as much as P120,000, which include examination and court appearance.

Kapunan was quoted as saying that single practitioner lawyers would charge at least P100,000 package fee for annulment, while those with law firms usually charge per hour of appearance.

After consultation, petitioner of annulment cases needed to come up with a detailed narration of his or married life and the circumstances that pushed him to seek dissolution of the marriage.

“Nire-require ko ’yung client to submit a detailed narration para madaling ma-determine ’yung mga points that needed clarification,”

Once the detailed narration is submitted, de Castro said she would refer the petition to a psychologist for assessment.

The psychologist would interview the petitioner, as well as the respondent, to establish whether the ground of psychological incapacity exists.

The findings of the psychologist would form part of the evidence of the petitioner.

(WATCH:Annulment of Marriage in the Philippines (based on Psychological Incapacity)



Once the petition is filed before the court, the respondent will be given 15 days from service of summons to answer, based on Supreme Court AM 02-11-10 or the “Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages,”

If the respondent fails to file an answer, the court shall not declare him or her in default. (WATCH:LegalHD Episode 80: Annulment & Legal Separation)

The court then will order the public prosecutor to investigate whether collusion exists between the parties.

Within one month, the public prosecutor is required to submit a report to the court stating whether the parties are in collusion. If the public prosecutor finds that collusion exists, the court will set the report for hearing and, if convinced that the parties are in collusion, the petition will be dismissed.

However, if the public prosecutor reports that no collusion exists, the court shall set the case for pre-trial, it was highlighted.

The court may reportedly require a social worker to conduct a case study and submit the corresponding report at least three days before the pretrial.

(WATCH:SONA: Annulment, mahaba at hindi madaling proseso)

At the pretrial, the court would determine whether the parties are willing to enter into agreements, their respective claims disputed factual and legal issues, as well as all the evidence to be presented, including the expert opinion, if any.

At the pretrial, the court may also refer the issues to a mediator who shall assist the parties in reaching an agreement on matters not prohibited by law. The mediator is mandated to come up with a report within one month from referral.

After which, a trial may ensue if no agreement is reached by the parties.

De Castro added that the entire process of annulling a marriage may go beyond one year depending on many factors, such as the availability of the judge, parties, the counsels, and other unforeseen events.

Indeed, getting out of marriage is a tedious process that is why when you are married, do everything to save it.

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