I was told by my agent that the current law might not affect those who renew from here now, but if they go back for their mandatory exit in one year, they will have to have these certifications prior to returning (assuming the law still stands as it is now). From what I am told the HK placement agencies here are really trying to work things out with the Philippine labor department to adjust their stance (basically I think they are more worried about the agency fees aspect of it, since now they can not collect fees from the maids, they will collect all from the employers, they are quoting over HK$6,000).
re: the tests/certs maids have to pass (ie language), supposedly if they do not pass, they have to retake it until they pass it. To retake the test is 1,000 peso (approx HK$160). . . or they find a way to do this under the table to get a passing mark to come to HK or any other country they apply for.
As it stands, this rule prices the Filipinos out of the domestic helper market as most agencies in HK and other countries will push/recommend people hire Indonesian/Thai or other nationals, since the Filipinos just became too "expensive" and hard to get hired as domestic helpers. However, I doubt that the Philippine government will stand firm on a lot of it stance, as they rely on their labor force to remit funds home in order to survive, so we shall see what tactics they can come up with.
