POEA blacklists 3 recruitment firms, suspends 5 others

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has cancelled the license of three recruitment agencies and suspended five others for deploying household workers using the so called “re-processing scheme." Re-processing is a modus operandi where licensed agencies submit to the POEA documents of workers for processing under another skill category but with a valid job order from accredited employers. The worker whose documents undergo “re-processing" almost always end up working as a domestic helper or for a position or employer different from those indicated in the employment contract, the POEA said. The agency said its personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) discovered the “re-processing scheme" of the eight agencies in the course of validating the documents of departing workers at the Labor Assistance Center in NAIA Terminal 1. When interrogated, the workers admitted they were leaving to work as domestic helpers in Middle East countries and did not undergo the strict requirements of documentation for Filipino household service workers under the reform package introduced by the government beginning Dec. 15, 2006. The agencies whose licenses were cancelled for violation of Part VI, Rule I, Section 2e of the 2002 POEA Rules and Regulations, and for committing the same offense for the third time, were those of RDRI International Manpower, Town International Manpower, and Skyline Placement Agency. The POEA also disqualified all officers and directors of the three agencies from participation in the overseas program of the government and their names included in the POEA List of Persons with Derogatory Record. The licenses of Askar International Management and Services, Awas Manpower Services, Jiahnni International Inc., and Royal Lucky International were suspended for six months. The four agencies were given the option to pay a P60,000 fine each as alternative penalty. Rajaam Recruitment and Placement’s license was meted out 12 months suspension or payment of P120,000 fine. - GMANews.TV