Home | To bottom

POEA urged to focus on OFWs rights, welfare

BAGUIO CITY (Dec. 2) — Migrante-Cordillera called on the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) to prioritize information and education on OFWs’ rights and welfare, including how and where to get assistance in case they fall victims of harassment, illegal recruitment and other forms of violence in a foreign country.

In an interview, Migrante-Cordillera criticized the POEA and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for the lack of information dissemination among overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) on the said concerns.

Flora Belinan of Migrante-Cordillera said that \all of the OFWs who sought their assistance did not know what to do and where to get help. Belinan said that allies and friends referred most of the complainants, while others were walk-in complainants who just heard of Migrante during the election campaign earlier this year.

Belinan suggested that the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) sponsored by POEA should focus on those needs.

Cases assisted

Overcharging is the leading problem of OFWs here in the Cordillera and the Ilocos region, Belinan disclosed. She explained that an OFW should pay a fee equivalent only to his one-month salary, but recruitment agencies collect much higher fees.

Belinan shared that Gloria Lobangos, an OFW from Mt. Province paid a P75, 000 placement fee to Steadfast recruitment agency for a six month contract in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, she was terminated after 24 days for no valid reason.

Belinan revealed that in Hong Kong, the minimum monthly salary is P22,400 (HK$ 3, 200). In this case, Steadfast owes Lobangos P52,600, she explained. Lobangos only recovered P25,000 from the said agency, Belinan said.

Leonora Alsaen was another victim of the said agency, Belinan added. She disclosed that Alsaen only recovered P20,000. She added that since Alsaen paid Steadfast a total of P65,000, the agency still owes her P22,600.

“In all of the cases of overcharging we have handled, the victims chose to get the measly amount the agency offers rather than get nothing at all,” Belinan stressed. She added that most OFWs loan thousands of pesos just to pay their placement fees with the hope that they would earn enough abroad to pay their debts and provide for their families.

“But many end up with meager income, which is not even enough to pay their debts due to illegal recruitment and overcharging”, she said.

Belinan also mentioned that there are cases OFWs’ imprisonment and loss of benefits due to the implementation of the OWWA omnibus policy. There are also families who seek Migrante’s assistance to locate missing OFWs who are their kin. # Kim Quitasol for NORDIS

Home | Back to top