Iniutos ni Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III sa mga airline company na itigil na ang pagsasama ng travel tax at terminal fees sa ticket na binabayaran ng mga overseas Filipino worker (OFW).
Sa liham na ipinadala ni Bello kay Director General Jim Sydiongco, ng Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), nakasaad na exempted ang mga OFW sa pagbabayad ng travel tax at terminal fees alinsunod sa Presidential Decree No. 1183 at sa Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995 (RA 8042).
“It has come to my attention that the travel tax and terminal fees are being included in the cost of the airline tickets issued to our OFWs. While some OFWs were refunded of these fees at the airport prior to their departure, most of them, however, were not refunded because of lack of awareness about this privilege or lack of time to process their claim for refund,” ani Bello.
Sa kanyang liham, hiniling din ng kalihim sa CAAP na i-remit sa Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) ang travel tax at terminal fees na hindi naibalik sa OFWs.
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Inatasan din ni Bello ang Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) at OWWA na makipag-ugnayan sa CAAP at MIAA sa agarang pagbuo ng mekanismo para sa awtomatikong exemption ng mga OFW sa travel tax and terminal fees. - Mina Navarro
