About 40 security guards and janitors would be replaced for their supposed compliance in the illegal recruitment schemes at the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), Labor Undersecretary Dominador Say said at a press conference November 21.
“May mga reports kasi tayo na nagagamit po yung ating mga security guards at janitors dun sa illegal activities. Either ginagawa silang bagman or runner. Ito po ang napakasakit, dahil siyempre yung ating mga security guards na dapat ay nagtatrabaho ay nagagamit ng ating mga tiwaling opisyal,” he said.
“Bibigyan po natin ng pagkakataon na imbestigahan natin ito, kung dapat palitan ay papalitan po natin, upang sa ganun wala na silang maging conspirators,” Say continued. “We’ll get to the bottom of that.”
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III directed POEA officials to implement the suspension and cancellation of licenses of certain recruitment agencies suspected of or engaged in illegal recruitment, reported GMA News.
CCTV cameras will be installed at every POEA office as wel to continuously monitor illegal activities of illegal recruiters and accomplises inside the agency.
“I think last January, nagkaroon tayo ng reshuffle for the senior officials ng POEA. But now, this is a more in-depth reshuffle and revamp, top-to-bottom po ang ginagawa. And there will be some officials there who will be removed from their posts,” Say said.
Bello spilt the beans that some employees of POEA earn as much as a quarter of a million or P250,000 by conniving with illegal recruiters for the issuance of overseas employment certificates (OECs).
He announced an investigation into the alleged anomaly in the OEC application, which prompted them to initially suspend further processing and releasing of the document for 15 working days, November 13- December 1, to prevent what he claims existing corruption in the agency. This applies to all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), including direct-hire workers.
Bello said they will implement new guidelines in the POEA to ensure that OECs will not be used for illegal recruitment activities.
“We are coming up with a major revamp in POEA to see to it that the issue of corruption is addressed,” said Sec Bello.
He also expressed that the problem needs to be “nipped in the bud,” even if the suspension will affect around 75,000 would-be OFWs.
