An recruitment agency has been suspended for 40 months by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for submitting fake certificates from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to send Filipino workers overseas.

The Lexcel Manpower Corporation, which has a counterpart agency in Saudi Arabia, “was suspended for misrepresentation and falsification of travel documents of household service workers (HSWs),” Hans Leo Cacdac, POEA administrator, said in a statement.

Lexcel was found guilty of nine counts of misrepresentation and one count of falsifying or altering the travel documents of applicants.

Penalties include a 36-month suspension of license or a fine of 1.8 million pesos for misrepresentation and four months suspension of license or a fine of 200,000 pesos for falsification.

“Our government recognizes that ... migrant workers ... must possess skills and familiarity with the country and the language of their employers and host government,” Cacdac said.

“That is why OFWs being deployed as HSWs are required to complete competency requirements under the Philippine TVET qualification and certification system.”

Cacdac reminded recruitment agencies that they are expected to ensure the authenticity of documents submitted for processing by the POEA and are liable for any irregularity in its issuance.