OFW group: 'It’s open season for unscrupulous recruiters'

MANILA, Philippines - A global alliance of Filipino migrant organizations warned aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) against what it termed as ‘open season for crooked recruiters to abuse innocent applicants.’

Migrante International said that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s announcement of a government-negotiated half-a-million job openings abroad makes Filipinos vulnerable to unscrupulous recruiters.

To prove this allegation, retrenched OFWs from Taiwan Alma Ang, Artess Diaz, Maryjane Javier and Evanessa Jalmadrid revealed how their recruiters overcharged them.

Recruitment agencies MIP International Manpower Services, Fil-Sino Manpower Services Inc., Staffline Recruitment Agency and Forever Recruitment Agency charged the hapless OFWs placement fee ranging from P85,000 ($1,911 at the 2008 exchange rate of $1=P44.47) to P145,000 ($3,260). The maximum amount approved by the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) is only about P55,000 ($1,160).

According to Migrante, more than 25 retrenched OFWs from Taiwan have personally complained to Labor Secretary Marianito Roque about the placement fee. To this day, the POEA has not even investigated any of the recruitment agencies mentioned, the group said.

Garry Martinez, chairperson of Migrante International, said, “We have received reports that overcharging is actually an open secret in the industry; but government officials consider this as part of the ‘market reality’, especially in Taiwan."

Martinez also slammed Arroyo for ignoring the Bureau of Immigration’s pronouncement that the POEA is engaging in large-scale illegal recruitment and human trafficking; victimizing at least 10,000 OFWs per month.

“In total disregard of such an alarming revelation by no less than the BI, the President even graced the POEA job fair, signaling her consent for such illegal practices to continue," explained Martinez. “From the looks of it, it as if the government and these dishonest agencies are in cahoots drooling over the big bucks they make from exorbitant fees and remittances."

“For as long as the President, DOLE and POEA prioritize the selling of OFWs as commodities, cases of overcharging and illegal recruitment will dramatically rise to alarming proportions this year," said Martinez.

Migrante announced that, in their scheduled dialogue with POEA Administrator Jenifer Manalili on Monday, they will challenge Administrator Manalili to, once and for all, prosecute these recruiters or resign from her post. Delaying government’s action on these cases only means corruption is rampant and that connivance between government official and recruiters is well-entrenched in overseas employment," Martinez concluded. - Bulatlat.com

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