MANILA, 15 July 2006 — Newly installed Philippine labor chief Arturo Brion has vowed to go after airport “escort” syndicates victimizing Filipinos seeking employment abroad.
He also promised to lay the groundwork for a more effective application of law against this menace together with concerned government agencies. In a statement, he said that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) would intensify its efforts against the notorious “escort services” that illegally transport unsuspecting victims abroad with apparent impunity.
Brion admitted that the task is not easy as he noted that the syndicates remain active particularly at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport despite efforts by his predecessors to curtail their activities. Brion earlier voiced a strong concern about the “increasing rapacity of illegal recruiters in victimizing innocent people desiring overseas jobs" and has vowed “to build up the government capabilities against illegal recruitment.”
He noted media reports that illegal recruiters have now resorted to using travel agencies as fronts, and are even advertising to lure would-be OFWs to illegally enter, as tourists, other countries without assured employment. They later found jobs in those countries but ended up abused and distressed, worse, sometimes as prostitutes or maids forced to run away due to mistreatment, low salary, and other appalling conditions, the reports said.
Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz urged would-be OFWs to avoid shortcuts and enter and work legitimately in economies hosting foreign workers so as not to place themselves in peril. Cruz said that while the government agencies concerned should intensify efforts against illegal recruitment, job seekers should also not let down their guard by making sure that they pass only through POEA.
