Philippine envoy: Embassy is not a recruiting office

The Philippine Embassy said here yesterday that it is not acting as a recruitment agency to help employers hire Filipino household service workers (HSW) including housemaids, baby sitters, laundrywomen, family drivers, cooks and gardeners.
Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago said in a statement: “We have received reports that an SMS message claims that the Philippine Embassy has household workers for employment transfers. The embassy is not a recruitment agency.”
He added that the embassy had also received numerous inquiries asking if the embassy has HSWs who want jobs. He said employers must work through local recruitment agencies.
He said the embassy and outfield consular offices have been inundated with prospective employers ever since the Saudi government announced its concessions on May 10 that allows workers to rectify their status and transfer to other sponsors.
He said there has been heavy traffic on weekdays at the Riyadh Diplomatic Quarter (DQ) as potential employers rush to the embassies of labor-exporting countries looking for housemaids.
On DQ’s main roads, there was a car buildup exacerbated by workers walking toward their respective embassies to correct their status.
The Philippine envoy added that the embassy has received job offers for Filipinos, which it posts on a blog linked to its website and on a board outside the embassy.
“The embassy stresses that it is not responsible for the transactions and agreements made between the companies and the Filipinos, and it does not endorse any of the companies,” he said.