POEA warns jobseekers vs illegal recruiters

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) yesterday reiterated its call for job hunters to be vigilant against illegal recruiters.

In a video posted on his Twitter account, POEA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said many job seekers fall prey to unlicensed recruiters because of the “travel aspect” of their supposed employment.

“Illegal recruiters use travel as a bait – the plane ticket, tourist visa, pocket money and application fee. These are the easiest aspects of becoming an OFW (overseas Filipino worker), but not the most important,” he told aspiring migrant workers.

Cacdac said job hunters should instead look into the job promised by the recruiters as this is the only thing that could assure them of security in the host country.

“Travel and work are two different aspects, and it is important to focus on finding a legal and decent job,” he said.

He underscored the need for workers to ensure they have the necessary skills for the job and a valid contract.

Workers should also make sure they are dealing with a licensed recruiter with a valid job order on the list of the POEA.

The POEA came up with the video as a way of giving preventive measures to prospective OFWs.

“We never let our guard down. We always assume the worst form of illegal recruitment scam is out there,” Cacdac told The STAR.

He asked jobseekers to look for the “tell-tale signs” of illegal recruitment. 

He said recruitment should not be done in restaurants, food courts, parks or public waiting areas.

Legal recruitment should be conducted in the “office address submitted to the POEA by a POEA-licensed recruiter with a POEA-registered foreign employer and job order.”

Cacdac added that recruitment could be done outside the office address if there was a special recruitment authority from the POEA.