ALKHOBAR, 3 November 2003 — Filipino workers employed worldwide have asked the Senate in Manila to reject moves by recruitment agencies to strip the Philippine Overseas Employment Agencies (POEA) of its regulatory function.
A petition signed by hundreds of OFWs appealed to the Senate to immediately act instead on a pending bill seeking to retain the agency’s regulatory function.
The petition was initiated by the Pusong Mamon Task Force (PMTF) in Riyadh in support of a campaign by Manila-based non-government organizations for the passge of Senate Bill 2646, which seeks to strengthen the regulatory functions of the POEA.
SB 2646 is meant to amend Republic Act 8042, the Migrants Act of 1995, specifically by repealing Sections 29 and 30 of the law.
The two sections gave the agency until 2000 to phase out its regulatory functions but the POEA stalled, prompting protests from recruitment agencies.
OFW groups, however, said they feel the POEA should continue regulating the overseas recruitment industry.
“Without government intervention, Filipinos will be exposed to more employer’s abuses ranging from exploitation, maltreatment, contract substitution, and violations of their individual rights while working abroad,” Ronnie Abeto of the PMTF based in Alkhobar said.
The Saudi-based groups such as the PMTF, eLagda, Kakampi, CURE, ICOFVR, OFW Congress and Alyansa conducted a signature campaign in the Kingdom and sent the petition to Senate Majority Floor Leader Loren Legarda to act on the pending bill before the 13th Congress ends in December. “The welfare of OFWs continues to be under threat from these provisions. We all know very well Sections 29 and 30, if not repealed, will open our colleagues to abusive employers and recruitment agencies,” explained Rashid Fabricante of the eLagda in Riyadh.
The signature campaign had swung fast to the Eastern Province through e-mail and text messaging. Supports mushroomed from organizations in Alkhobar, Dammam, Ras Tanura, Al-Hassa, Abqaiq and Jubail following the initiatives from groups in Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah, Tabuk and Qassim.
Abeto said that OFWs in UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Singapore had also sent their support to the AMEND group in Manila.
While supporting the retention of the government’s regulatory functions, various organizations in the Philippines had criticized the POEA for its alleged failure to strictly implement regulations against erring and illegal recruiters.
Abeto also said that OFWs urged the government to appoint an OFW to run the POEA. “It will be an OFW who will really understand our welfare needs and not those appointed politicians in Manila,” he said.
It was learned that Isidro Aligada, a former sectoral representative in Congress, has been appointed recently as one of the directors at POEA. However, Aligada, who was once an OFW in Jeddah, has no clear function yet.