At million OFWs deployed'in 2008, that P I 8,000 per migrant could potentially to some P22.3 billion pesos collected by various government agencies from aspiring nligrants for the year. The OWWA reports Pl.38 billion in collections from its members in 2008 increasing from P1.28 billion in 2006. The POEA meanwhile reports collecting P4O7.g million in various processing fees in 2007 which is approaching double theP273.l million it collected lrl.2002. I .24 be equivalent The burden of state exactions is compounded by recruitment agencies that overcharge for services (e.g., skills testing, medical examinations, placement fees, documentation costs) or even demand bribes, driving up the start-up costs of migrating even further. Large debt overhangs are in themselves a drain on migrant earnings but also have the adverse effect of forcing passivity on the part of migrants as long as they have to work to repay these. This situation becomes particularly problematic if it tums out that they are victimized by illegal recruiters and do not have jobs to go into after all, if they are suddenly rendered jobless, or if their earnings are not as much as they expected. As it is the BSP's latest CES of the 2'd quarter of 2009 noted that a high 5l.loh of households were repaying debt which is rnore than double the 22-9%o doing so two years ago. While the BSP survey does not exactly specifu the nature of this debt it is very reasonable to presume, given the general backwardness of domestic capital markets, that these refer mainly to debts incurred in the process of seeking work abroad. Illegal recruitment, recruitment agency abuse and traflicking. The overwhelming bulk of migrant worker recruitment and placement is done by private recruitment agencies of which there are some 1,300 licensed to operate in the country. Illegal recruitment however easily emerges and has a tendency to persist - despite penalties from fines up to life imprisonment - because of the low economic barriers to entry in this activity, the constant flow of Filipinos desperately seeking work abroad in the most expedient manner, and its resulting private profitability. Even licensed agencies commit illegal recruitment when they undertake recruitment, hiring and placement contrary to the prescribed minimum rules and standards. These include overcharging, falsification of documents, contract substitution, and unwarranted failure to deploy workers. 28