Pinoy groups in HK rally vs. OEC, deployment ban



Members of Filipino militant organizations in Hong Kong on Sunday once again pressed the Duterte administration to scrap the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC), describing it as an unfulfilled promise.
The groups —  Bagong Alyansang Makabayan–Hong Kong and Macau, Gabriela-HK, and United Filipinos in Hong Kong — held a rally at the same time to protest the Philippine government's decision to suspend the deployment of Filipino workers overseas.
The groups marched from Chater Road West in Central to the Admiralty Centre, where the Philippine Consulate office is located, in Admiralty.
"Hanggang sa ngayon, walang linaw ang katuparan ng mga pangakong binitawan," Bayan-HK and Macau said in a statement. "Sa halip dagdag na pabigat at hirap sa OFWs ang nagawa at gagawin ng gobyerno."
The group added that deployment ban is not a solution to the problem of illegal recruitment, which Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has cited in coming up with the department order.
"Hindi naman mareresolba ng deployment ban ang problema sa illegal recruiters, sa halip ay perwisyo ito dahil nawalan ng kita at kabuhayan ang mga OFWs," Bayan-HK and Macau said.
Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre, meanwhile, said only new hires were barred from securing OECs, and those who would be returning to their employers were not affected by the temporary ban.
The departure of an estimated 75,000 would-be OFWs will be put on hold during this period as the Department of Labor and Employment launches an investigation supposedly to rid the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency of erring employees benefiting from illegal recruitment. —KBK, GMA News

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