MOU vs. illegal recruitment, trafficking signed

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - A memorandum of understanding  (MOU) was forged among the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the Ilocos Norte provincial government and all local government units (LGUs) to battle illegal recruitment and human trafficking.

Lawyer Jesus Gabriel Domingo, the POEA’s deputy administrator on licensing and adjudication, said the MOU establishes very close ties in information campaigns against illegal recruitment, recruitment violators and human trafficking.

“By information dissemination, we can save a lot of lives. It is the LGU’s mandate to protect its constituents, while our office's mandate is to protect job applicants and at the same time (overseas Filipino workers) from abuse,” Domingo, who signed the MOU with Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos said.

Other signatories of the MOU were representatives from the Department of Labor and Employment, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the heads of the LGUs in the province.

Marcos said that illegal recruitment is less of a concern in the province because, “we are proud to say that here in the province, there have been little incidence of illegal recruitment.

“We need a more market-driven training approach,” she said, citing that there are more job openings which require skilled manual workers like welders and aluminum fitters than white-collar professionals.

“This is the real challenge that we change the minds not only of the students but also of parents that vocational and technical skills are in demand,” she added. 

Marcos said there is a very high number of Ilocanos working abroad, citing that 61 percent of all families in the province are receiving moeny overseas.

While many overseas Ilocanos have already returned, the challenge lies on how to convert this people “who are employees all their lives” to entrepreneurship, the governor said.