POEA suspends recruiter for trying to deploy 6 helpers as office workers

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has suspended a recruiter for trying to deploy six household service workers as office workers and salespersons.

POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac ordered the suspension of the license of CAZ International Inc., after initiating a complaint against the firm motu propio

Immigration personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 1 had stopped the six women from boarding their respective flights after they admitted they would work as domestic workers.

POEA: 11 recruitment agencies charged after ‘salvo inspection’

Prospective overseas Filipino workers may have to be wary of 11 agencies that were slapped charges for violating recruitment laws, the Philippine Overseas Employment Adminiistration said Monday.

In a Twitter post, POEA head Hans Leo Cacdac said the violations were found during a "salvo inspection" at the Gedisco Center in Ermita, Manila.

Charged were:

POEA cancels license of manning agency over placement fee

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has cancelled the license of a local manning agency for collecting placement fees worth P30,000 and P60,000 from two jobseekers.

According to POEA, Mid-South Ship and Crew Management, Inc. collected the money from the victims and made them sign two-year employment contracts for a monthly salary of $250.

The two victims then worked as fishermen aboard a Taiwan-based fishing vessel for three and a half months before returning to the Philippines due to alleged maltreatment and unpaid wages.

Beware of retweeted and shared ‘POEA-approved’ jobs, OFWs advised

If that supposed "POEA-approved" job offer was retweeted or shared, better think twice before applying.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration issued the warning on Sunday as it advised prospective overseas Filipino workers to verify such offers reposted on social media.

"Mag-ingat sa mga post, re-post, tweet at retweet na nasasagap o kinakalat sa social media, patungkol sa mga 'POEA-approved jobs' kuno," POEA head Hans Leo Cacdac said.

POEA: Overseas employers need letter of acknowledgement

Prospective overseas employers will need to get a letter of acknowledgment from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration before recruiting workers in the Philippines.

The reminder was issued over the weekend by POEA head Hans Leo Cacdac on his Twitter account.

"Overseas employers who want to conduct recruitment activities in the Philippines need to secure a Letter of Acknowledgment from the POEA," Cacdac said.

BI, POEA team up vs. illegal recruiters

Immigration officers have been ordered to be on the lookout for human trafficking victims after the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) revoked the license of an agency caught sending workers abroad with double visas.

Officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) found two prospective overseas Filipino workers with altered visas presenting them as a cashier and a hairdresser.

However, the women later presented their true visas indicating their true work was as a housemaid and a babysitter.

POEA issues 10 reminders vs. illegal recruitment

Apply only with licensed recruitment agencies, be wary of job offers posted online, and transact directly with government offices.

These were among the reminders the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration issued to overseas-bound workers to avoid illegal recruiters.

POEA reminds would-be OFWs vs. 3 misconceptions

Opportunities await only the skilled, a tourist or visit visa is no guarantee of protection, and it is not easy to adjust to the culture of a host country.

These were the three reminders of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to Filipinos thinking of working abroad.

POEA head Hans Leo Cacdac posted the reminders in a tweet to warn prospective OFWs against possible pitches by illegal recruiters.

POEA invites ad agencies, PR firms to join drive vs. illegal recruiters, traffickers

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has started inviting ad agencies and public relations firms to join the government's campaign against illegal recruiters and human traffickers.

POEA head Hans Leo Cacdac issued the invitation via his Twitter account Thursday, a day after the Labor Department called for more action against illegal recruitment and human trafficking.

"Any ad agencies, PR firms or their industry associations interested in joining the campaign against illegal recruitment and human trafficking?" Cacdac said.

Court sentences illegal recruiter to up to 10 years in prison – POEA

A recruiter has been sentenced to from seven to ten years in prison by a Pangasinan court for illegal recruitment, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration head Hans Leo Cacdac announced on Friday.

According to a post on the POEA's Facebook page, convicted illegal recruiter Gloria Gaspar must also pay a fine of P300,000 and pay her victim Jocelyn Estioco P7,200 with 12 percent interest per annum and the equivalent of 16,800 dirhams (around P202,410) for 21 months of unpaid wages.

Estioco was looking for work as a cook when Gaspar's cousin, Nancy, introduced her to the recruiter. Upon meeting, Gaspar asked Estioco to submit her passport and biodata before sending her to Manila to meet her contact Juliet twice.

Balik-Manggagawa OFWs reminded of separate payments to Philhealth, POEA

Vacationing and re-hired overseas Filipino workers will have to separately pay their contributions to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration for their Overseas Employment Certificates (OECs).

PhilHealth issued this reminder as the new policy (where the POEA will collect fees for only OEC and no longer for PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG Fund) took effect April 1.

"We call on our OFW-members to pay their PhilHealth premium contributions first before going to the POEA for their OECs. This will secure their social health insurance coverage, as well as that of their legal dependents, for their peace of mind," said PhilHealth president and CEO Alexander Padilla.

POEA cancels recruiter’s license over concealed visas

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has canceled the license of a recruitment agency for its attempt to deploy two Filipinos abroad with concealed visas.

Chanceteam International Services Inc. tried to deploy the two to Dubai as household service workers, POEA head Hans Leo Cacdac said.

“This is a clear case of reprocessing that constitutes misrepresentation to circumvent the POEA rules on recruitment and placement of household service workers,” Cacdac said.

POEA reiterates warning versus job offers abroad with tourist visas

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Chief Hans Leo Cacdac advised Filipinos planning to work abroad to refuse job offers that promise work abroad as domestic helpers using tourist visas to cross borders.

“They should not accept job offers if they are to leave using a tourist visa even with the assurance of the recruiter that they would find employment for them upon arrival in the country of destination,” Gulf Today quoted Cacdac on Thursday.

He said the warning also applied to job seekers offered immediate employment in Asian countries where tourist visas are not required.

Recruiter loses license over excessive placement fees

A labor recruiter has been stripped of its license by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration for allegedly charging excessive placement fees.

A POEA statement said Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac ordered the license of Goodman International Manpower canceled over the alleged exorbitant placement fee it charged.

Cacdac also suspended Goodman's license for nine months and fined it P450,000 for each time it collected placement fee without issuing a receipt.

Recruitment agency suspended for sending 4 OFWs to Dubai with deceptive visas

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration preventively suspensed a recruitment agency for sending four household service workers (HSWs) to Dubai using deceptive visas.

POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac ordered the sanction against YMC International Manpower Services, which he said violated POEA rules on misrepresentation in recruitment and placement of workers.

With the preventive suspension order, YMC International is temporarily barred from recruitment and placement of OFWs pending investigation of the cases against it.

POEA to OFWs: Don’t leave with 2 visas

Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac yesterday warned overseas Filipino workers against leaving the country using two different visas, to avoid problems at the airport and at the worksite. Cacdac issued the statement as he ordered the preventive suspension of two recruitment agencies for using the double visa scheme in the deployment of their workers.

Cacdac said the POEA has initiated motu propio separate complaints of misrepresentation against Hiro Global Manpower Inc., CAZ International Inc. and Al-Walih International Manpower Services Company, after their respective recruits were barred from leaving the country by the Bureau of Immigration, for possession of two different visas.

POEA padlocks training center for illegal recruitment

A training center in Pampanga has been ordered closed after it was found recruiting factory workers for Japan and Korea, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said.

POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac ordered the padlocking of RRR International Training Center Inc. at DRT G27 at Plaza Cristina Building in Dolores, San Fernando City.

"The training center was reported to have been offering Korean language course but its name was not found in the updated TESDA (Technical Educational Skills Development Authority) registry of technical and vocational institutions (TVIs) and training programs," POEA said.

POEA names 50 recruitment firms with poor repatriation records

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Tuesday named 50 recruitment agencies with the worst record in terms of repatriating distressed overseas Filipino workers.

POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said his agency will lodge cases against the 50 firms for their failure to properly repatriate their OFWs.

Cacdac added some of those in the top 10 may face preventive suspension.

POEA soft-launches online OEC system

Overseas Filipino workers returning abroad may soon get the Overseas Employment Certificates (OECs) from a home computer or an Internet cafe.

This was after the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration held a soft launch of its Balik Manggagawa online processing system.

"We are soft-launching our Balik Manggagawa (BM) Online System, which aims to streamline processing of overseas employment certificates (OECs). The idea is to provide access to an appointment facility or an OEC self-print out system at the BM's convenience," POEA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said.

11 Recruitment firms delisted for failure to comply with POEA requirements

The government has delisted 11 recruitment firms for their failure to comply with the requirements set by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

According to POEA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac, the agencies are:

Summit Placement and Resources Transfer Corp.;
BLT Global Manpower Services Inc.;
Amirah Umaimah Human Resources Inc.;
Human Resources Overseas Employment Agency Inc.;
A & S Manpower Resources Inc.;
Global Hospitality Placement Agency Philippines Corp.
ETT Innovative Manpower Solutions Inc.
Transnational Resources Inc.
IDC Manpower Services Inc.
Kookies International Recruitment Agency Inc.
FMR-1990 Staffing Services Inc.