Job applicants trigger stampede at POEA

In their desperation to leave the country for greener pastures, prospective overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) triggered a stampede yesterday morning at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) in a mad scramble to register for jobs in South Korea.

"There was a commotion because some of the applicants tried to break the long line of job applicants, fortunately no one was injured in the incident," POEA chief Rosalinda Baldoz said.

Baldoz said she is wondering why some of the applicants wanted to break the line, since the POEA will still entertain applicants until Wednesday and from April 10 to 20.

This was not the first time that a commotion was reported among throngs of applicants for deployment to South Korea, Baldoz added: "The registration is on first come first serve basis and we have a minimum of 500 to as much as job applicants a day."

Baldoz has assured that the POEA has sufficient personnel to attend to the job applicants, who tend to shove each other aside to jump ahead in the line.

To be included in the roster of jobseekers for South Korea, an applicant is required to register with the POEA and pass the Korean Language Test (KLT), as well as meet all the medical requirements for deployment.

Many job seekers are hoping to work in South Korea because the requirements can be complied with easily and the hiring companies offer higher salaries than firms based in other countries, a POEA employee said.

The government of South Korea earlier allocated 10,000 job openings for Filipino workers over the next three years. – Mayen Jaymalin