well this is nothing new. Phil. Govt is at fault with a lot of things. Too many rotten politicians, a lot of left and right bribes etc etc. With cases of sick maids, I do not think they are sick when they arrived at work destination, as POEA agency which regulates labors going out of the Philippines have put in strict measures, and is being monitored by a third party NGO to make sure there are no illegal dealings going on. WT might be right, they get sick at job location in many factors, one would be air sickness (most of them came from provinces, which is not used to long travels) 2nd will be extreme heat - 3rd would be home sick and list goes on. @Accha - yes that is a common occurrence in my home country, we call it "Palakasan System."