New interagency group to intensify drive vs illegal recruitment
MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has created a new inter-agency task force that will intensify the drive against illegal recruitment.
"There is a need to create a new task force against illegal recruitment... in order to ensure a more focused, coordinated and effective program of action to curb illegal recruitment," read Executive Order (EO) 759 signed by Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita on Oct. 23.
In a chance interview, Mr. Ermita said the task force will provide "more teeth" to measures that seek to address illegal recruitment.
The Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment (TFAIR) will be headed by Vice-President Manuel "Noli" L. de Castro, who is also Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers.
It shall consist of the Bureau of Immigration commissioner, who will serve as vice-chairman; and as members the secretaries of the departments of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Labor and Employment; heads of the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and anti-transnational division; director of the National Bureau of Investigation; head of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration; and general manager of the Manila International Airport.
TFAIR will develop and execute strategies against the modus operandi of illegal recruiters, draw measures against syndicates who tamper and sell fake passports and travel documents, and ensure the prosecution of syndicates and their protectors.
It is empowered to conduct surveillance and entrapment operations, direct the investigation and speedy prosecution of cases involving illegal recruitment, and coordinate with agencies involved in anti-illegal recruitment campaigns.
"It is of critical importance that the state safeguards public interest and protects the Filipino workers from losing their hard-earned money and property to unscrupulous recruiters and syndicates and save the government from incurring expenses due to repatriation of illegal recruitment," the EO read.
There are around eight million Filipino migrant workers worldwide.
Meanwhile, a state training agency is expecting increased enrollment due to foreseen higher demand for cheaper, skilled workers abroad.
Augusto L. Syjuco, director-general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Wednesday told reporters after a weekly forum in Greenhills, San Juan City that "demand for [skilled workers] abroad will not go down even if there is an economic crisis," adding Western countries demand "cheaper" labor.
He noted Guam needs 20,000 workers; Canada, 30,000; and New Zealand, 20,000 for the next three years. He said the Saudi Arabian embassy alone processes 1,000 passports daily.
"The best time to invest in any skilled development is when the market is down," he said. "But we cannot serve that overnight."
Mr. Syjuco said about 532,000 have enrolled in TESDA as of August. In 2007, total enrollees reached 2.14 million from 1.73 million in 2006. "About 48% of our 2007 graduates readily found employment within six months."
Meanwhile, an additional P300 million has been given by Mrs. Arroyo to boost TESDA’s scholarship grants. This is on top of P4.5 billion in subsidies announced by the Palace on Tuesday.
In a related development, representatives of militant migrant workers from different parts of the world gathered at the Mehan Garden in Manila Wednesday to seek representation in the four-day Global Forum on Migration and Development that ends today. They also called for the creation of additional domestic jobs, and celebrated the Zero Remittance Day.
"Today, we are collectively exercising our power to show our governments and big businesses that we are finally standing up against modern-day slavery that is forced migration," said International Migrants Assembly Chairman Eni Lestari. — A. D. B. Romero, B. U. Allauigan, BusinessWorld
"There is a need to create a new task force against illegal recruitment... in order to ensure a more focused, coordinated and effective program of action to curb illegal recruitment," read Executive Order (EO) 759 signed by Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita on Oct. 23.
In a chance interview, Mr. Ermita said the task force will provide "more teeth" to measures that seek to address illegal recruitment.
The Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment (TFAIR) will be headed by Vice-President Manuel "Noli" L. de Castro, who is also Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers.
It shall consist of the Bureau of Immigration commissioner, who will serve as vice-chairman; and as members the secretaries of the departments of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Labor and Employment; heads of the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and anti-transnational division; director of the National Bureau of Investigation; head of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration; and general manager of the Manila International Airport.
TFAIR will develop and execute strategies against the modus operandi of illegal recruiters, draw measures against syndicates who tamper and sell fake passports and travel documents, and ensure the prosecution of syndicates and their protectors.
It is empowered to conduct surveillance and entrapment operations, direct the investigation and speedy prosecution of cases involving illegal recruitment, and coordinate with agencies involved in anti-illegal recruitment campaigns.
"It is of critical importance that the state safeguards public interest and protects the Filipino workers from losing their hard-earned money and property to unscrupulous recruiters and syndicates and save the government from incurring expenses due to repatriation of illegal recruitment," the EO read.
There are around eight million Filipino migrant workers worldwide.
Meanwhile, a state training agency is expecting increased enrollment due to foreseen higher demand for cheaper, skilled workers abroad.
Augusto L. Syjuco, director-general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Wednesday told reporters after a weekly forum in Greenhills, San Juan City that "demand for [skilled workers] abroad will not go down even if there is an economic crisis," adding Western countries demand "cheaper" labor.
He noted Guam needs 20,000 workers; Canada, 30,000; and New Zealand, 20,000 for the next three years. He said the Saudi Arabian embassy alone processes 1,000 passports daily.
"The best time to invest in any skilled development is when the market is down," he said. "But we cannot serve that overnight."
Mr. Syjuco said about 532,000 have enrolled in TESDA as of August. In 2007, total enrollees reached 2.14 million from 1.73 million in 2006. "About 48% of our 2007 graduates readily found employment within six months."
Meanwhile, an additional P300 million has been given by Mrs. Arroyo to boost TESDA’s scholarship grants. This is on top of P4.5 billion in subsidies announced by the Palace on Tuesday.
In a related development, representatives of militant migrant workers from different parts of the world gathered at the Mehan Garden in Manila Wednesday to seek representation in the four-day Global Forum on Migration and Development that ends today. They also called for the creation of additional domestic jobs, and celebrated the Zero Remittance Day.
"Today, we are collectively exercising our power to show our governments and big businesses that we are finally standing up against modern-day slavery that is forced migration," said International Migrants Assembly Chairman Eni Lestari. — A. D. B. Romero, B. U. Allauigan, BusinessWorld
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