POEA-13 Warns Job-Seekers Against ‘Roaming Recruiters’ From Japan, Taiwan By Noel B. Najarro

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Caraga Satellite Office warned job-seekers against “roaming recruiters” for overseas employment, particularly from Japan and Taiwan.

Meriam Balmocena, Senior Law Enforcement Officer and Coordinator of POEA Caraga Satelite Office, told a press forum held at a conference room of a local restaurant here on Monday that their office received reports that some roaming recruiters are making rounds in some places of the region recruiting construction workers and offering language and other trainings for Japan and Taiwan.

According to Balmocena, in doing these recruitment they are not following the guidelines and specifications for such set up by the Philippine government and the countries of work destination.

”As far as our office is concerned, this method of recruitment is not valid as our government and the government of the aforementioned countries have set up regulation advisories or a regulatory body for that purpose. An agency before it can recruit workers has certain specifications to follow,” Balmocena said.

She also warned job-seekers not to enroll in any language or other trainings offered by these recruiters.

According to her, the Philippine government and the governments of the countries mentioned had set up guidelines in the deployment and employment of Filipino Foreign Construction Workers (FCWs) under the Foreign Construction Workers Acceptance Program (FCWAP) in Japan and in the case of Taiwan a Special Hiring Program (SHTP).

She said that the job-seekers’ applications will be processed through the International Direct E-recruitment System (IDES) and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO).

At the same forum, the POEA also reported its employment facilitation from January to December 2015 had issued 156 job fair authority, supervised 23 job fairs, evaluated and processed 485 employments. For its contract and deployment of workers, it had 33 as name hires, re-hires or “balik manggagawa” (BMs) 5,901; agency hires 1,732; and SRC 164.

For the workers protection, it had conducted 47 pre-employment orientation and Air seminars involving 9,629 participants; conducted 116 mediation and conciliation, 100 cases settled, 4 are pending, 7 docketed and 5 were dropped; 16 repatriated and assisted; conducted 47 public education and information campaign and had given 18 welfare assistance. POEA also had conducted 8 branch office inspections for its industry regulation.

POEA also announced the temporary suspension of the deployment of Filipino workers to countries which it identified as “non-compliant” such as Afghanistan, Chad, Cuba, Haiti, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia and Zimbabwe.

It also announced job vacancies for government placement for the Ministry of Health, Al-Noor Hospital, Makkah, KSA, 50 female nurses (ICU); 120 female nurses for general services. For UAE, a national ambulance company also needed 300 emergency medical technicians and the Ministry of Health (MOH)-HOP/King Saud Medical City, KSA needed 10 anesthesiologists, 10 ICU, 5 NICU and 5 PICU.

Job fairs were also scheduled on February 12-13, 2016 at Surigao City Gymnasium sponsored by the LGU; February 19, 2016 at Tandag City, sponsored by the “Liga Ng Mga Barangay,” and February 20-21, 2016 at the Father Saturnino Urios University Gymnasium (FSUU), Butuan City. (PNA) FFC/NBN/MEC