Why OFWs must rally behind POEA chief 

There are cracks in the Philippine recruitment industry owing to the desire of some disgruntled agency owners to oust the head of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

The campaign for ouster began in earnest over the weekend via Facebook using a page entitled, “No to Deployment Ban.” The social media campaign spilled over to traditional media when a news article published in a major broadsheet announced the holding of a rally against Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac, the administrator of the POEA. The POEA is the government agency tasked with regulating licensed recruitment agencies and ensuring the safe migration of overseas Filipinos.

As of today, the government has not imposed any ban on the deployment of household service workers except for countries with visible security concerns or those lacking in efforts to protect migrant workers.

Why are these suspended agencies instigating a campaign against a non-existent deployment ban? Apparently, the campaign is aimed at inflaming the emotions of overseas job applicants who are unable to leave the country because their agencies have been deemed unfit to carry on with their business.

Predictably, the ouster moves are being headed by recruitment agencies that deploy Filipino domestic workers to the Middle East whose operations were stopped by the POEA due to alleged recruitment violations.

According to POEA Administrator Hans Cacdac, he has canceled over 200 licenses of private recruitment agencies because of their failure to comply with government rules and regulations. Caught in between this ongoing feud are foreign employers, counterpart recruitment agencies overseas, and job applicants who must now look for better agencies to deal with rather than those with suspended licenses.

So far, many overseas Filipino workers and civil society groups as well as decent recruitment agencies have expressed their support to the embattled POEA chief, citing his reforms to protect Filipino migrant workers. Chief among these reforms are the ongoing bilateral talks with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for labor agreements to improve the work conditions of Filipino domestic workers.

One of the innovations introduced by Cacdac resulted in the faster processing time of the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC), a government document issued to every departing OFW. The POEA is one of only a handful of government agencies that uses social media to connect with their constituencies. It has even made it mandatory for recruitment agencies to open a Facebook page so that the workers themselves would be able to communicate in a timely and affordable way with the agencies that deployed them. Having these agencies accessible on Facebook also cuts down the costs for OFW families who need to travel all the way to Manila to seek help for their loved ones abroad.

It is high time that industry leaders, civil society groups and the POEA came together to discuss the way forward in distinguishing ethical recruitment policies from traditional practices that result in a more vulnerable overseas workforce. For this to happen, those calling for the ouster of Administrator Hans Cacdac, a much admired and well-respected career official, would have to rethink their moves.

A media war should be avoided and going to the streets to stage a rally is never a good business idea. What is important is to have a new road map on the deployment of household workers that would lead to more cohesive and upright recruitment policies. A rally can never take the place of a mature, open, and responsible discourse. –SUSAN V. OPLE, http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/776721