Direct hiring policy for OFWs shelved

MANILA, Philippines – Labor Secretary Arturo Brion stopped yesterday the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) from implementing a new policy on the direct hiring of overseas Filipino workers.

Administrator Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said the POEA will process the documents of directly hired OFWs using the agency’s old policy on direct recruitment.

Under the new policy, foreign employers are required to post a repatriation bond of $5,000 and a performance bond equivalent to three months’ salary of the OFW that they want to hire.

Employers in countries where such protective mechanisms are already in place have been exempted from the circular. – Sheila Crisostomo