MANILA, 6 May — Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Rosalinda D. Baldoz intends to bring overseas employment into the Internet age by posting on various websites information about illegal recruiters.
Baldoz said this will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information to the remotest barrios where cases of illegal recruitment are increasing.
Baldoz said the use of the Internet will only be part of the POEA’s information dissemination program which will be carried out by a network of information centers, tri-media outfits and non-government organizations (NGOs).
Baldoz, who was recently transferred to the POEA from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) where she was an undersecretary, will also be bringing the Continuous Service Process to the POEA to speed up the processing of papers there.
First, Baldoz said, these processes will be reviewed to speed them up. She has started this process and the processing of seafarers contracts there has been speeded up as a result. She also said the various transactions necessary between an OFW and the POEA will be computerized to ensure that the processing of documents are done within 24 hours.
According to Baldoz, the POEA is gearing up for the deregulation stipulated in the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 or Republic Act 8042.
In line with this deregulation, she said, the POEA is revising its rules to ensure that the most qualified licensed agencies are able to actively participate in the overseas employment program under a more liberal and level playing field.
Baldoz also said the POEA would continue to try to secure through bilateral and multilateral negotiations better working terms and adequate safety nets for Filipinos working abroad.
Likewise, in line with the policy of disclosure, she said the government, through concerned government agencies, shall ensure that timely, accurate and complete information affecting the terms and conditions of employment of OFWs will be disseminated.
All this, Baldoz said, will ensure that the government will be a more active participant in the overseas employment process and will even recognize it as a means of achieving full employment of the entire Filipino workforce.
