DOLE: Illegally deployed entertainers to Korea on the rise

More and more Filipino overseas performing artists (OPAs) are sneaking out of the country to seek employment in South Korea.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said a large number of Filipino singers, band members and dancers, including those displaced by stricter immigration rules imposed by the Japanese government, have arrived in Busan and Seoul in the past few months.

"However, only 30 percent of the OPAs were in possession of valid travel documents and registered with the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labor Officer (POLO), a ranking labor official, who requested anonymity, said.

The official said they received reports that undocumented OPAs leaving Manila through the "escort services" that bypass the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Labor Assistance Centers at both Terminal I and Terminal II of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The labor official warned OPAs who attempt to leave without proper travel and working documents that they could be victimized by unscrupulous nightclub operators who might take advantage of their being illegal workers.

"Their passports would be confiscated and they would be subject to abuse and inferior working conditions," the official said.

He revealed that some promotions agencies in Manila are in cahoots with foreign promoters who do not want to be accredited with the POEA.

Instead of securing permits from POEA, the erring Korean promoters reportedly pay $300 to their contacts at the NAIA for every OPA that leave the country.

Earlier, local recruitment agencies reported that South Korea is slowly becoming an alternative destination for Filipino entertainers since first-class karaoke and music bars are now mushrooming in several cities.