Manila: The Philippines labour department set up an online registry for Filipinos seeking job abroad, following the decision of Taiwan to stop accepting work permit for Filipino applicants effective May 15, a senior official said.

“If you are looking for overseas employment, let the online registration of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) be your first step. The registration is free and easy. It is accessible anywhere and anytime,” Labour Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement.

Those who have registered on POEA’s online system must routinely access their account every month and should not stop doing so in six months, otherwise their account will be inactive, Baldoz said in a series of instructions for Filipinos who are seeking employment abroad.

Interested Filipinos can set up their accounts at www.eregister.poea.gov.ph, where they can enter personal data, information on job and country preference, education, languages spoken, skills, and work experience, said Baldoz, adding that attached scanned passport size photo in .jpg format should not exceed 15K.

The applicants’ data will be sent to foreign employers to match with their manpower requirements, Baldoz explained, adding that the POEA will be in charge of sending emails of the foreign head hunters to the Filipino applicants.

“The nature and frequency of these messages will vary depending upon the application status of the applicants,” said Baldoz, adding that applicants may seek information at poea_employmentbranch@yahoo.com.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government has identified alternative markets such as South Korean, the Middle East, and Malaysia for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who would be affected by Taiwan’s decision to suspend hiring Filipinos, said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, following sanctions imposed by Taiwan on the Philippines.

“In light of what has happened, the labor department has deemed it fit to look into alternative markets that are capable of absorbing the number of OFWs who may wish to come back or who may have to leave their places of employment,” Valte said.

Seventy-two per cent of the 85,185 estimated OFWs in Taiwan are employed in the manufacturing sector or factories, 26% in personal and social services, and 2% in the fisheries sector, labour data said.

Philippine officials have created a group to pursue an appeal that people in Taiwan should not to vent their anger at OFWs there, following the diplomatic fallout between the two countries over the death of a Taiwanese fisherman in Philippine sea.

There are nine million OFWs deployed worldwide.