Sentidokomon

THE government has no plan to take away from recruitment companies the deployment of Filipino workers abroad. Labor Secretary Arturo Brion made the clarification to dispel reports that the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) is poised to take over and control the recruitment of Filipinos work employment overseas by entering into a government-to-government scheme.

He said the government is happy with the way licensed placement agencies are handling the placement of Filipinos abroad. “The private sector is more efficient and we are happy with the way they deploy our workers,” he said. Brion said if there is anything what the government wants to do is to retain its regulatory functions to ensure the welfare and safety of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

He admitted that there are cases wherein government might solely administer the deployment and recruitment of OFWs like in the case of South Korea, which sought a government-to-government transaction. South Korea had forged an agreement with the Philippines through the Electronic Permit System wherein the recruitment of Filipinos will be handled directly by labor department through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Brion said there also other countries that want a government-to-government system of recruitment. “We didn’t like the idea so we turned them down,” he said. (MSN/Sunnex)