Training Bond Advise

Hi and good day to you all. I would like to seek some advice on what appropriate steps I could take regarding my contract that has a "training bond". First of, background muna:

1. I am currently working at a BPO company for 1 year. I started as an IT trainee and my training supposedly has a bond of 500,000 php.

2. Technically, I was not able to complete the appropriated 6 month training because I was then assigned to work for a client 3 months into the course.

3. I started training on April, assigned to a client in July and regularized October. However, my contract still states that I reimburse the 500,000 cost of training if I leave the company within 18 months.

My questions are:
1. Can I argue that the 500,000 bond should not be in effect because I have not completed the assigned 6 month training and was assigned already to a client prior to the end of the course?

2. I understand that having signed all contracts, I am bound to the stipulations of the contract. However, I do feel that 500,000 is such a steep amount for my 3 month training ( i did not even receive any IT certifications aside from the training course that they had ). To top it off, my work currently consists of jobs unrelated to the training that I had. All of my duties currently I got from the client and not from the training course that they gave me. What is the appropriate courses of action available to me should I decide to resign?

Thank you very much and hoping to hear from you all soon.

Oh and one more thing. If some of my trainers had been from abroad ( though from the same company ), would that somehow be a way for them to justify the supposed cost of training bond at 500K? All training that we had were classroom type, some parts of it had "specialists" from abroad coming in to train us as part of the course.

please search for employment bond in the forum

yep thanks I had already but i could not find a sitaution where the training period was cut short due to being assigned to a client. and i would also like to know if consulting DOLE would be the best way to have my contract checked. i sent them an email actually and they had this answer:

"We would like to emphasize that contract is the result of the meeting of the minds between the contracting parties. Thus, it is considered as the law that governs the contractual obligation of the parties. Contract executed in good faith, the parties is obliged to observe the terms and conditions stated therein. The Labor Code is silent on the acceptability as to the amount of the bond.

However, you may file a request for assistance under the Single ENtry Approach (SEnA) program of DOLE with our Regional Office nearest the workplace for purposes of conciliation-mediation."

Is this the only option available to me? Thanks! More power!

Also , a few questions on what I've read so far sa ibang threads:

1. About Unjust Enrichment - what exactly does it entail? Yun ba ung parang pumasok ka lang sa kanila to get ung reputation ng company at experience para maincrease ung value mo sa a professional? What if ung training na nakuha ko e iba sa ginagawa ko na work, would that be considered unjust enrichment? Hindi ko naman choice na ipasok nila ako sa unrelated na work. Me opening lang so I grabbed the opportunity.

2. According to the other threads, kung walang property under my name, wala silang makukuha. Married na ako so would that mean, any property sa wife ko they can also claim? And should they find nothing, can they hold me to some agreement pa to pay in the future pag me means na ko to do so?

Thanks very much, I was reading through the threads kaya lang medyo nalabuan ako, some of the links they don't work na. Anyway, thanks again, I am hoping me option na available sa akin. Cheers!

Also on another point I was assigned to a client and the company have in turn profited through me due to ung dealings nya with said client. Can it be argued that wala ng unjust enrichment kasi they have also profited from my work ( na underpaid ) and hindi ito mauuse against me? Kindly advise. Appreciate it!

look in the threads for the link on almario vs philippine air lines. that is the leading case on the matter.