POEA blacklists 23 foreign recruiters

BY WILLIAM DEPASUPIL, TMT, Manila Times, 19 Aug 2019

THE Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has begun cleansing the overseas employment sector of misfits to protect the interest and welfare of Filipino workers seeking employment abroad.

POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia on Sunday disclosed that the attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment in charge of overseas employment has already blacklisted 23 foreign recruitment agencies (FRAs) and direct employers, and suspended or canceled the licenses of 18 Philippine recruitment agencies (PRAs) for violation of recruitment rules.

“Cleansing the industry is part of the intensified regulatory exercises [of the POEA] to protect Filipino workers and promote the welfare of those seeking overseas employment,” Olalia said.

He added that of the suspended and canceled PRAs, there were those whose licenses were restored after their cancellation was reversed on appeal.

Olalia identified the 23 disqualified FRAs and direct employers as AV Global Harvest PTE Ltd., Isa Khouri Metal Industries Ltd. and Amir Khoury, Raffles International Christian School, Al Tauqueet Trading and Services Est/Al Tauqet Trading and Services Co., NooraSalem Saad Occie for Recruitment of Domestic Helpers Office, All Pro Recruitment Agency, Marwan Slim, Food Equipment Supplying Company Limited and Thaer H. Abdou, Wanasah Manpower Supply and Mohammed Naser Al Naser, Bader Contracting and Trading Company/Bard Cont and Trad, Speedy Tech Electronics Co. Ltd., Staff Buro Staffing, Candice Cruz and Allan John Wilton, Jalal Al Jalal Construction Est./ Al Nassr AhssaTrading Contracting Company/Jalal Al Jalal/Saad Saleh Al Jalal, Marhaba Shopping Center, Hadi Al Hamroor Contracting Est. and Fawzi Al Najrani Est./Fouzi Saleh Najrani Contracting, Yacht Tours Maldives Pvt. Ltd., Al Falax Electronics Equipment and Supplies Company/Al Falak Equipment, Agensi Pekerjaan YSL SDN BHD Lim Pooling and Saw Boon Foong, West Labour Supply and Abdalla Ali Adalla Alsari, Tsaheel Al Janoob Office for Recruitment, Al Bahli Manpower Recruiting Office and Omar Saad Al Hamad, and Special Manpower Supply.

The PRAs with suspension or fine from January to July 31 are Double M Marine Services, Danasan Manpower and Management Services, Summit Placement and Resources, Masters International Placement, Farland Personnel Management Corp., Corinthians Placement Services, Ankor Management and Services and Consultant, HBO International Manpower Services, Century High HR Inc., First Champion and International Entertainment Inc., Jamal Human Resource, Farland Personnel Management Corp., Boom International Recruitment Agency, Workgroup International Manpower Services, Osims Oriental Skills International, Health Carousel Philippines Inc., Mitch International Recruitment Agency, and Falcon Maritime and Allied Services.

The list of agencies with canceled licenses include Rufean International Resources, Ace Globe Management Consultancy Services Corp., Federal Overseas Manpower Inc., American Prime Manpower Services Inc., FilhighGNS Inc., Danasan Manpower and Management Service, Pacific Ace Human Resources Corporation, Highway Manpower Services and Promotion Inc. and M&P Employment Inc.

Olalia said the POEA had to disclose the list to make the public aware, especially those seeking employment overseas, of the erring agencies.

Earlier, the POEA required all FRAs recruiting household service workers (HSWs) for deployment to Kuwait to deposit in Philippine banks at least $10,000 in escrow account as guarantee for monetary claims of HSWs in contract disputes.

In issuing Memorandum Circular (MC) 10-A, Olalia said the escrow deposits of FRA and the escrow deposit of its partner PRA shall be equally applied to answer for the awards to the workers in dispute settlement.

Under MC 10-A, all FRA hiring domestic workers to Kuwait requesting accreditation with a PRA, including those renewing their accreditation, shall comply with the escrow requirement.

If the FRA is accredited or to be accredited to more than one PRA, it needs to put up only one escrow deposit.

If the FRA has a pending Disciplinary Action against Employer case during the renewal of its accreditation, the FPA shall be required to put up an additional escrow deposit, which shall not exceed $50,000.

POEA records indicated that based on preliminary data, deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has dropped by 67 percent in 2018 to 1,363,085 from 2,044,877 in 2017.

Deployment of new hires in 2018 also dropped by 9 percent to 420,639 from 459,080 in 2017.

The same is also true in the deployment of rehires, with only 606,665 deployed in 2018, a significant drop from 1,136,334 OFWs who were rehired in 2017.