POEA to recruitment agencies: Report state of OFWs or face sanction

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Wednesday reminded local and foreign recruitment agencies to monitor the condition and submit a report on the status of deployed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia said Republic Act 8042, as amended, states that failure to report on the status of employment of an OFW is a prohibited act.

Violators, POEA said, would face the penalty of suspension from participation in the overseas employment program for six months to one year on the first offense.

Permanent disqualification in the overseas employment and permanent disqualification and delisting from the roster of accredited employers, meanwhile, await violators on the second offense.

POEA explained that foreign principals and employers were required to sign an undertaking to monitor the condition of OFWs as a part of their accreditation.

Data privacy?

Olalia likewise said that data privacy and confidentiality are not excuses for recruitment agencies’ and employers’ failure to report the status of recruited OFWs.

The administrator said that Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 allows the processing of information if “the processing is necessary to protect vitally important interests of the data subject, including his or her life and health.”

POEA said it has recently developed an online application that would aid the monitoring of the condition of deployed OFWs.

“The monitoring system will be used by Philippine recruitment and manning agencies as a tool in reporting the status and condition of OFWs they have deployed as prescribed by the POEA through Memorandum Circular No. 12, Series of 2018,” POEA said.

“MC 12-2018 requires licensed manning and recruitment agencies to strictly monitor the status and conditions of deployed OFWs onsite and seafarers on-board and submit corresponding quarterly reports,” it added. /kga