Recruitment firm loses license for charging excessive placement fees

A recruitment firm has lost its license after it was found charging excessive placement fees from an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who it deployed to the United Arab Emirates.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration head Hans Leo Cacdac ordered the license of Japhil 2000 International Agency Corp. canceled for overcharging.

"Under POEA rules, a recruitment agency may charge and collect from its hired workers as placement fee an amount equivalent to one month salary of the worker, exclusive of documentation costs," the POEA said in a statement Tuesday.

But in this case, Cacdac said the company allegedly collected P21,100 from Honey Lou Gian, who as a cleaner earns only P8,000 a month.

Gian also lodged a complaint against the recruitment agency, saying its vice president assured her placement and employment in Dubai as cleaner in a hospital or hotel with a monthly salary equivalent to P17,2500.

But when she arrived in Dubai, she was made to work at an on-call house cleaning services firm, cleaning three to four houses a day for about 700 dirhams a month, or less than half the promised salary.

Cacdac also ordered Japhil 2000 and its surety agency to refund Gian P13,100 excessively collected from her. He also disqualified officers of Japhil 2000 at the time the violation was committed from engaging in the recruitment and placement of OFWs

Cacdac also found Japhil 2000 collected fees from Gian without issuing an official receipt registered with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, showing the amount paid and the purpose for payment.

He added it also committed misrepresentation, when it promised Gian, a graduate of an HRM course a job in a hotel or hospital.

"Instead, she ended up working for a cleaning company servicing private residences,” Cacdac said.—Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News

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