Barangays to protect public versus illegal job recruiters

By WILLIE CATAPAT
March 7, 2010, 2:39pm

Aware of the rising number of victims of illegal job recruiters, Caloocan City Mayor Enrico “Recom” Echiverri has tapped barangay leaders in protecting unsuspecting residents from people who offer dubious or non-existent jobs abroad.

First to be mobilized were barangay officials from Zone 14, 15 and 16 who took part in a pre-employment orientation-seminar and information campaign regarding anti-illegal recruitment (AIR) measures.

“For me, the biggest tragedy for a Filipino family is to have a relative get victimized by an illegal recruiter as it shattered their dreams of a better future” Echiverri said.

The city mayor said that by conducting the seminar and information drive, the city government hopes to relay the warning to local residents so they may not be duped of large amounts of money or worse be exploited once they are in another country.

“How many times have we heard the story of a mother who was supposedly hired as domestic helper abroad only to find out that she had no work waiting for her? What would become of her?” he said.

He also said that as a precaution, residents must not fall so easily to promises of high-paying jobs abroad, especially if those offers are coupled with unbelievably quick processing times for travel.

“If the job offer abroad is too good to be true then it probably isn’t,” Echiverri warned residents.

He said it is standard procedure to double check with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) if a job order for overseas workers exists in a particular country.

The seminar was conducted by the Caloocan Labor and Industrial Relations Officer-Public Employment Service Office (LIRO-PESO) under Dante Esteban, officer-in-charge, in cooperation with the POEA.

Echiverri said similar seminars are set to be conducted in other barangays of the city to ensure that the information can reach the highest number of residents.

Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/246606/barangays-protect-public-versus-illegal-job-recruiters