THE PEOPLE’S BLACKLIST

Against Abusive Employers, Recruitment Agencies,
and Cronies in the Government

Naabuso o na-traffick ka ba ng employer mo? Lumapit ka na ba sa gobyerno ng Pilipinas pero wala kang nakuhang tulong?

Isumbong mo sa Migrante at Gabriela!

Kontakin kami!

WHO WE ARE

We are Filipino migrant workers who have experienced labor trafficking, wage theft, harassment and other abuses at the hands of employers, recruitment agencies and the government officials that support them. Despite the challenges, we find strength in uniting with our kababayan to fight back and demand what we deserve. 

We have been able to win victories with our employers being cited to pay millions in owed wages, being shut down, and being exposed as guilty of violating our labor rights. We have also been able to assert for assistance from Philippine consulates. But we’ve also uncovered the corruption and neglect of Philippine government officials that have corrupted the peoples funds, broken promises to migrant workers, and failed to fulfill their mandate to assist Filipinos overseas. And every day, we learn about more employers and Philippine state officials that must be held accountable. 

What is The People’s blacklist?

We must grow the movement to demand justice for Filipino migrant workers against abusive employers, recruiters, and their cronies in the Philippine government. The Peoples Blacklist is our joint effort to expose, condemn and hold them accountable through public events, press conferences, mass flyering and protest actions. 

Who’s on our blacklist?

Employers

  • Jenette Valencia, owner of Trinity Care homes (Washington)

  • Nancy Reyes, CEO of United In-Home Care Services (Los Angeles County)

  • Florencio & Maribel Cayco, Cayco’s Care Homes (San Francisco)

  • Julieta Sicat, owner of Haven Center Care Homes (Oregon)

Recruitment Agencies

Government Cronies

  • Macy Maglanque, Head Labor Attache

  • PH Consulate LA Consul General Adelio Cruz

why are we targeting
“cronies of the government”?

More than 1 in 10 of us leave the Philippines because of the underdevelopment in our home country, looking for work abroad to survive. Since the time of Marcos Sr. the government has made a business out of sending Filipinos to work abroad instead of creating national industries and livelihood at home. Filipinos are leaving at the rate of more than 8,000 per day and paying the government thousands of pesos in fees per person.  This system of labor export is facilitated by the Philippine government through its agencies, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) [read more in the Migrante USA Primer “Serbisyo o negosyo?”]. It’s a system that relies on selling the labor of Filipinos and trafficking them. These Filipinos celebrated as the nation’s “bagong bayani” too often face neglect from the Philippine embassy and consulates in their time need. The neglect of the people and even the corrupting of peoples funds needs to stop.

Once overseas, we become migrant workers who constitute an underclass within the working class, excluded from full social and political rights, and concentrated in low-wage sectors such as agriculture, construction, care work, logistics, and informal services. In the US, 84% of Filipino workers are concentrated in the service sector, including in the caregiving industry.

With the increasing attacks against migrants in the US and the rising cost of living in the Philippines, we are carrying a heavier burden to take care of our families back home – we do extra work, make extra tipid, even at the expense of our health. We will not sit back while we are denied basic protections and rights. We will build our strength and support each other to fight for justice, livelihood, and dignity. Our experience shows us the abuses will only stop when workers are empowered and help to lead a mass movement that forces them to face consequences for their actions and fights to change the system.

  • OFW ang pagpasok namin dito, manggagawang Pilipino. Marami po kami. Pero pagdating namin dito—FRAUD. Bakit pati dito sa Amerika ganito din ang sitwasyon namin at gaganituhin kami. Saan na ang proteksyon na binibigay niyo po?

    —Trafficking survivor & caregiver based in NY who was illegally recruited by September Star Agency, registered with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and continued to operate despite complaints dating back to 2000

  • Until now, why is Nancy still doing that to her employees? Why are they tolerating those things? Because the caregivers don't give [money] to them? Or what? OFWs pay the wages of the Consulate. Dapat number one siyempre tulungan nila.

    —Caregiver at United In-Home Care Services, formerly known as Amity, who approached the Philippine Consulate and Department of Migrant Workers in LA to blacklist her abusive employer, Nancy Reyes who has close connections to the PCG-LA staff. Despite the group of caregivers winning a citation of 2.3M dollars in wages owed by Reyes through US court, the Philippine government has yet to blacklist Reyes.

kumilos na!

How can you get involved?

  1. Isumbong mo kay Migrante at Gabriela! Share your story or encourage others to share their story and report abusive employers, recruitment agencies, or their cronies in the Philippine government.

  2. Sign up your organization to endorse the People’s Blacklist.

  3. Hold local activities and actions to hold targets accountable: in-person forums, know your rights and political education trainings, mass flyering, actions demanding justice from employers and calling for accountability of mga kurakot. 

  4. Join a Migrante or Gabriela chapter near you and get involved in a campaign.

  5. Donate to campaign efforts.

SAMA AKO!