KOTA KINABALU: A two-year moratorium on the licensing of new recruitment agencies is proposed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) as part of the agency’s bid to purge so-called foreign-controlled recruiters.
POEA Governing Board Private Sector Representative Estrelita S. Hizon said she proposed the “drastic” measure amid the rising number of foreigners, who are illegally conducting recruitment through incorporation or tie-ups with local firms.
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“We notice these players would tie up with Filipinos or employ Filipino as dummy [for their operations]. If the government finds out and shut [them] down, all they have to do is to open a new agency,” Hizon said.
She added the moratorium will give the POEA and other government agencies the necessary time to weed out these foreign-controlled recruitment agencies.
“I already suggested this during our pre-board meeting…. POEA Administrator [Bernard] Olalia said we could discuss again during the formal board meeting,” Hizon said.
For the duration of the moratorium, she said, the POEA could further intensify monitoring of the new personnel of recruitment to ensure it will not include any foreigners.
“I am confident [that] the over a thousand existing licensed recruitment agencies could handle the demand for that two years [when the moratorium takes effect],” Hizon said.
The rise in the number of foreign recruiters, she added, could be attributed to the lucrative nature of the recruitment business.
She said the practice is not only illegal, but also detrimental to Filipino applicants they prey upon.
“This is dangerous for our OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] since these foreigners have no capability to provide protection when the need for it arises,” Hizon said.
Philippine recruitment agencies are responsible for monitoring the welfare of OFWs while they are deployed abroad and their repatriation if the need, or the situation, arises.
Labour Undersecretary Jacinto V. Paras, who heads the task force of the Department of Labour and Employment (Dole) against human trafficking and illegal recruitment, said he will be endorsing the proposal to Labour Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III.
The labour official said the proposal is timely, especially with the expected rise in the demand for OFWs abroad.
“This will allow us to focus on those with existing [recruitment agencies] and evaluate if they have foreign stockholders or incorporators,” Paras stated.
