POEA warns OFWs of ‘bogus’ China jobs

By Philippines News Agency – Feb 14, 2018

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) cautioned Filipino workers who are working in Macau against those who are offering employment in mainland China.

In a news statement issued on Wednesday, the agency noted that the people should be wary in accepting job offers in the said country, particularly in the capital Beijing.

“The POEA warns both Filipino workers and tourists looking for work in Macau to be cautious in accepting offers from other Filipinos for supposed employment,” it said.

The POEA added that recruitment through a third country is considered illegal.

“Recruitment through a third country is considered illegal recruitment if neither the recruiter nor the employer has proper authorization from the Philippine government,” it said.

At the same time, the agency reiterated its call to would-be overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to only transact with licensed recruitments in the country.

“For their own protection, applicants for overseas jobs should only transact with licensed recruitment agencies in the Philippines,” the statement said.

“They should have the appropriate work permit or visa or employment contract approved by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and processed by the POEA,” it added.

The agency said that third country-recruitment activities were earlier reported to be targeting OFWs in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Cyprus and were lured into transferring to other countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, Mongolia, Turkey and Russia.

The POEA issued the advisory after receiving report from the Department of Foreign Affairs the case of a Filipina household service worker (HSW) in Macau, who was allegedly recruited by a Filipina, named Pia Ciabacal.

The report said that the OFW went to Macau as a tourist and was eventually able to land a job as HSW. She was offered a job in Beijing for the same position with a monthly salary of 7,500 Chinese renminbi (more or less P61,000) per month, allegedly by Ciabacal.

The domestic worker was able to enter and work in China, but the employer refused to pay her any salary for her services and confiscated her passport and mobile phone.

Ciabacal and other Filipinos in Macau allegedly work as agent for a certain Chinese recruiter known only as “Fancy,” who supposedly owns an establishment called MMC Enterprises at Beleno Shop, Red Market in Macau.