Government to file appeal against ruling on job agencies

The government will go to the Supreme Court and appeal the case of the labour department which has been calling for strict requirements for recruiters who take Filipino workers abroad, labour officials said.

In an effort to secure the safety of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), the labour department came out with strict measures in accrediting recruiters.

The recruiting agencies must have a capital of P2 million ($40,000), higher than the required capitalisation of P1 million ($20,000).

They are also required to have an escrow account of P1 million ($20,000), higher than the required escrow account of P300,000 ($ 6,000).

The licence of first-time offenders will be revoked, the labour department said. Overcharging of placement fees represent 70 per cent of offences.

Many recruiters admitted that they have been charging placement fees equivalent to three months' salary of the OFWs. The labour department noted that the recruiters were allowed to deduct fees equivalent to one month's salary of the OFWs.

Representatives of the recruiting agencies said the steep requirements of the labour department has "beleaguered the dollar-earning manpower export industry".

The failure by the labour department to implement the deregulation law, known as the Filipino Migrant Workers Act of 1995, has triggered apprehensions by foreign employers and talent contractors about their being able to continue their manpower business in the country, the recruiters said.

The Supreme Court recently issued a temporary restraining order against a lower court's decision, which has allowed the labour department to enforce the deregulation law.

At the same time, some labour officials revealed that several groups of Japanese contractors have signified their intention to drop the Philippines as a major supply source.

There are at least 300,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Japan, 20 per cent of whom are documented overseas performance artists (OPAs). Close to 100,000 of them are illegal OFWs.

Labour officials believe that the increasing number of illegal OFWs is due to the rising number of illegal recruiters.

But the representatives of the recruiting agencies said the new requirements imposed on agencies will further increase the number of illegal recruiters and illegal OFWs.