MANILA, 25 June 2004 — A leading member of the recruitment industry in the Philippines criticized the government’s name-hiring or the direct-hiring scheme, which it said has become a tool of illegal recruitment.
Alfredo Palmiery, president of the Federation of Manpower Exporters (Fame), said the scheme “is being flagrantly allowed” and is even being promoted by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
Under this scheme, the employee in the Philippines is hired directly by the employer abroad. The employee processes his working papers directly with the POEA, bypassing the services of a recruitment agency.
“The government, instead of going after the illegal recruiters who prey on helpless Filipino workers, overly regulate licensed agencies. The current policies and procedures directly or indirectly promote more illegal recruitment,” Palmiery said during the opening of the Overseas Employment Summit at the POEA early this week.
Acting Labor Secretary Manuel Imson the summit will target enhanced welfare and protection for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), with the help of their recruitment agencies, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Labor Department.
The conference will be preceded by a pre-summit meeting which began this week and will center on “identifying the major obstacles faced by the overseas employment industry and the prospects of overseas employment,” Imson said.
Palmiery pointed out that most of the runaways currently seeking refuge in the Philippine missions abroad were victims of illegal recruiters. “Moreover, since victims of illegal recruiters are mostly not properly selected and trained, they are easily terminated and subjected to employers’ exploitation,” Palmiery said.
He said the three domestic helpers who died recently in Lebanon while escaping from their employers’ homes were all victims of illegal recruitment.
“And lest we forget, there are the celebrated cases of Flor Contemplacion and Sarah Balabagan. They were both likewise illegally recruited,” he said.
Palmiery said the summit will be held because the recruiters themselves suggested it to President Gloria Arroyo in a meeting less than a month ago. He said “there have been summits in the past and we have sincerely offered our insights, suggestions and proposals as to how together we can serve the national interest through programs and projects that will redound to the development of the industry.”
This time around, Palmiery said recruiters will work hand in hand with the government to achieve their six million overseas job target for the next six years. He said the recruiters would also try for higher quality jobs than just employment for unskilled and semi-skilled workers.
