10 recruitment firms lose license, one suspended due to violations

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has ordered the cancellation of the licenses of 10 Philippine Recruitment Agencies (PRAs) while it suspended the license of another one after they have been found liable for recruitment violations.

According to POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia, the order against these PRAs was pursuant to the directive of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III to expedite the investigation on erring PRAs.

The following companies whose licenses have been suspended are:

• Al Bayan International Manpower Services Co.;
• Bumiputra Gulf Company Inc.;
• Gold Fortune Human Resources Corp.;
• LFC International Human Resources;
• Aisis International Manpower Incorporated.

Also included in the list are:

• GreatWorld International Management Inc.;
• GlobalGate International Manpower Services Inc.;
• MMML Placement Inc.;
• SML Human Resources Inc. and
• Best Migrant Workers International Manpower Services Inc.

On the other hand, the POEA has suspended the license of NRS Placement Inc. for four months.

“Recruitment agencies guilty for deploying overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait. The POEA has finally resolved pending cases and we have here an initial list of PRAs found guilty of recruitment violations with their corresponding penalties,” the POEA chief said in a press conference Wednesday.

Olalia explained that the order was issued on cases which are pending before the total deployment ban was imposed.

“These are the pending cases before the deployment ban. They already have pending cases before the total deployment was declared. What we did is to expedite the resolution of the cases based on the pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte and of course the Secretary of Labor,” he said.

“Various violations either violations of the provisions of the employment contract, substitution of contract, non-payment of wages. Usually the cancelation of license because of the seriousness of the offense or the frequency of the violations. If one has many violations, there will penalty imposed on first offense, suspension or reprimand, and then second offense…on the third and fourth your license will be canceled,” the POEA added.

However, the companies have been given 15 days to file an appeal upon the receipt of the order.

Meanwhile, five POEA personnel are set to be charged for their involvement in the deployment of supposedly Balik Manggagawa (BM) or returning workers.

Olalia identified them as Florence Medina, LEO III and evaluator assigned BMPD Main; Jerome Sousa, Administrative aide BM cum evaluator (service contractual) both from BM SM Manila; Gretchen C. Casilang, LEO II and evaluator assigned in BM SM Pampanga; Renegold Macarulay, Supervising Labor and Employment Officer from POEA Zamboanga and Rosalina Rosales, LEO III/Evaluator assigned in BM Trinoma.

“These are the ones we uncovered, they deployed workers under the BM but was found out that they are not qualified as BM because they were deployed for the first time. If one is being deployed for the first time he/she cannot be considered as BM. Those are the irregularities and anomalies we uncovered, that is the liability they will be facing,” he explained.

The charges stemmed on the probe conducted by the agency in connection with the controversy involving POEA personnel who are allegedly engaged in illegal recruitment activities. (PNA) By Ferdinand Patinio