Overseas jobseekers gypped of P104 M

Recruiters have cheated overseas jobseekers of over P100 million in excess placement fees and other illegal charges, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said yesterday.

Records of the POEA, an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment, show that thousands of prospective overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have shelled out a total of P103.7 million in placement fees but have been unable to work abroad.

POEA chief Rosalinda Baldoz said that based on their data, 1,934 prospective OFWs paid more than P81 million in fees to recruiters last year alone.

Baldoz said the recruiters promised the jobseekers good paying jobs in Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Hong Kong and United States but they never materialized.

The same data revealed that most of those involved in the illegal recruitment cases filed with the POEA were licensed agencies.

Of the total cases, 1,361 involved licensed agencies and 573, unlicensed recruiters.

Apart from the P81 million in placement fees, Baldoz said recruiters also collected some P21.9 million in excess fees. — Mayen Jaymalin