10 Victims of Illegal Recruitment Per Day, Says Migrante ME

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At Migrante-Middle East’s (M-ME) complaint desk, an average of 10 cases of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) victimized by illegal recruiters come in on a daily basis.

This was among the cold figures provided by M-ME as the Saudi-based group of Filipino migrants frowned at the Philippine government’s “poor performance” in combating illegal recruitment activities the past few years.

M-ME Regional Coordinator John Leonard Monterona, citing data from his monitoring group in the Middle East, said they’re receiving an average of 10 victims of illegal recruitment who are asking for assistance.

In 2010, Monterona noted, the government handled 1,648 cases of illegal recruitment but it only acted upon and resolved 283, a disposition rate of 17.2 percent. He said the figures were from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Continue reading at Manila Bulletin

Recruiters Hire Workers Through Facebook

Illegal recruiters, who are deploying overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Afghanistan, have tapped Facebook to hire more workers, re-cruitment agencies said Sunday.

Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani issued the warning after receiving reports that at least three illegal recruiters are now using the social networking site Facebook (FB) to draw in more recruits from the provinces.

In a statement, Geslani said that the illegal recruiters, based in Batangas, Bataan, Cabanatuan, and even as far as Dubai, are offering former OFWs job opportunities in Afghanistan through their Facebook accounts.

Geslani said some of these illegal recruiters are charging between P120,000 to P150,000 per workers in exchange for supposed employment in the American-held Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has earlier issued partial deployment ban in conflict-torn Afghanistan and Iraq to allow rehires working inside the American bases in the said countries so they could finish their contracts.

But under the partial deployment ban, new hires are still not allowed to be deployed in both Middle East countries since they are not yet aware of its security risks.

“The public is hereby warned that recruitment agencies are not offering new jobs in Iraq and Afghanistan and be wary of illegal recruiters offering non-existent jobs in both countries,” Geslani said.

This developed as the Philippine government would need more funds to repatriate the 17,000 undocumented OFWs in the strife-torn Syria.

Continue reading at Manila Bulletin

Illegal Recruiters Targeting Iraq, Afghanistan-banned OFWs

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are warned of illegal recruiters operating in Dubai, Batangas, Bataan and Cabanatuan.

In a statement, recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani said these illegal recruiters are targeting OFWs who are eager to go back to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has already banned the deployment of new workers there.

Only OFWs who have valid contracts and with sufficient documents being processed by the Balik-Manggagawa section of POEA may be allowed to go back to those countries.

The OFWs are also warned that some recruiting syndicates are using the social networking site Facebook, with numerous inquiries about possible jobs flooding the OFWs through their accounts.

Geslani said a group offering jobs at “GLC Company,” which is supposedly located inside the Kandahar Airfield, is in fact an illegal recruitment syndicate.

Continue reading at ABS-CBN News

Afghan Deployment Ban Change Sparks Illegal Recruitment Activities

The partial lifting of deployment ban to Afghanistan is not only seen as opportunity for Filipinos to land lucrative jobs in the war-torn Middle Eastern country. It also ushers a spate of illegal recruitment campaigns orchestrated by unregistered agencies or private individuals.


Recruitment veteran Emmanuel Geslani revealed this development as he warned aspiring OFWs looking to work in Afghanistan to check job offers carefully.

“The memo from the US military explicitly states that only those with existing contracts can be renewed and that no new workers can be deployed to those bases,” he said.

Geslani disclosed that part of illegal recruiting syndicates’ modus operandi is to post job openings for skilled construction workers to Dubai, and then transited to Kabul, where high-paying jobs at US bases in Kandahar or Bagram are located. Illegal recruiters are now looking for applicants in some provinces, especially in Central Luzon, Geslani said.

The deployment ban in Afghanistan and Iraq was partially lifted last Wednesday after the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Governing Board approved it amid the clamor of workers there and upon recommendation of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa of Malacanang’s Overseas Preparedness Team.

Workers in Afghanistan may now also take a vacation back in the Philippines and will be allowed to go back to work place to finish their contracts.

According to POEA records, an estimated 5,000 OFWs are employed in US and international military camps in Afghanistan despite the deployment ban imposed by the agency in the war-torn country since 2001.

15 Filipinas in HK Duped by Farm Jobs That Don’t Exist in Canada

Apparently Filipinas are willing to give up domestic helper work in Hong Kong for worm picking jobs in Canada.

At least 15 Filipinas are believed to have been duped into paying nearly HK$180,000 for inexistent farm jobs in Canada.

Documents obtained by The Sun showed the Filipinas were asked to pay a placement fee of 1,500 Canadian dollars each to work as “worm pickers” at a farm in Toronto.
The jobs were offered through advertisements placed in community newspapers by Honey Bee Employment and Trading Services, a recruitment company registered with the Employment Agencies Administration of the HK Labour Department.

In response to queries from The Sun, Honey Bee proprietor Maria Fe Albano said she herself had been victimized by a man who claimed that his company in Canada, Helping Hands Services Incorporated, was recruiting up to 50 farm workers from overseas.

She said she remitted all the money paid by the applicants to her Canadian contact she identified as a Mr. Vicente M. Macalipay, with office address in Main Street, Vancouver.

But after sending the money, she said she could no longer contact Macalipay.

According to one of the complainants who identified herself as Jonie, she paid Honey Bee a deposit of CAD$500 on Feb. 28 this year, and was interviewed the next month.

She completed the payment afterward, on the assurance that the labor market opinion (LMO) that certifies that the job is available would be issued in May. She was reportedly told that the processing of her work papers would be completed within four to six months.

Continue reading at The Sun