Labor Attaché Felicitas Bay said concerns about corruption at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administation (POEA) prompted Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to indefinitely suspend processing of Overseas Employment Certificates (OEC).
In a press conference, Bay also cleared the air on the apparent confusion caused by Bello’s move, explaining that such only applies to overseas Filipinos directly hired from the Philippines whose documents are currently being processed by POEA.
“There were allegedly certain people in the government na para ma-facilitate yung process nang mabilisan, ay nagpapabayad,” Bay said.
“The secretary wants to take a look at these things kasi marami nang report na nakakarating sa kanya na yung mga direct hired workers ay iniisyuhan ng OEC pero may hinihinging kapalit,” Bay said.
Bello’s suspension order took effect on April 25. Following this, her office was bombarded with calls from OFs asking for clarification on the order, which, by itself, went viral on social media sites last week.
The order has apparently worried many OFs planning to take their annual vacation leaves during the month-long Ramadan which starts on May 26.
“If you are a worker with an existing employment on an employment visa, by all means, you can take a vacation and then return from vacation. Ang sinasabi ni Secretary ay yung mga newly direct hired workers sa Pilipinas whose employment are being processed in the Philippines. Dito sa POLO, yung mga application ng mga employers for their direct hired workers, ang hindi muna namin prinocess kasi hindi rin naman ito ipa-process ng Manila office,” explained Bay.
