Resignation of POEA Mrs Baldos
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Adapted
Who are the ‘direct hire’ OFWs?
There are two ways to get a job overseas. You can either go through
an authorized recruitment agency in the Philippines or you can directly
contact the employer. Obviously, those who can directly communicate
with the foreign employer don’t have to go through a recruitment agency
and so the process is referred to as “direct-hire” and they are called
“direct-hires.”
OFWs who go through a recruitment agency usually have to pay their
recruiter a placement fee and/or a commission. While those who are
direct-hires sometimes take greater risks by staying in a foreign
country (sometimes as tourists) and then by God’s grace and through
their contacts, they find work. Some direct-hires find work while still
in the Philippines when the employer comes to the Philippines to screen
applicants.
Both ways of finding work have their own advantages and
disadvantages, depending on the jobsite, employer, work, and the
contract. (2) There are those who say that it’s important to go through
a recruitment agency because they make sure that the employer is a good
one. Recruitment agencies also look after you when you’re already in
your jobsite. On the other hand, there are others who think that they
can do away with recruitment agencies. They think they can deal
directly with their employers and they can handle their own problems.
And if not, they can always run to the Philippine embassies for help.
That’s why they’re there, right?
If you were to choose between the two, which one do you prefer: Go
through a recruitment agency or directly deal with the employer?
There is another important thing that we should keep in mind when it
comes to the definition of direct-hires. Let’s say an OFW who went
through a recruitment agency in their first overseas job finishes their
contract with their employer. If he/she decides to find another job
overseas with another employer, he/she is now a “direct-hire.”
Before Memorandum No. 4
Let’s say, an employer in the Middle East needs to hire an engineer.
A Filipino engineer, who has just finished his contract with another
employer, applies for the job. He came highly recommended by his
previous employer and so he was accepted in the job. His new employer
offered him a salary of $1,000 a month. He was more than happy to take
the job, especially because if he can’t find work, he will be forced to
go back to the Philippines. They signed the contract and the OFW starts
working the next day. Simple, right? That’s direct-hiring!
Enter Memorandum No.4!
Memorandum No.4 (Series of 2007) signed by POEA Administrator
Rosalindo Dimapilos-Baldoz took effect on January 15, 2008. All
employers, whether individuals or companies, must abide by the
so-called “guidelines.”
Let’s go back to the story of our Filipino engineer. Now, according
to this memorandum, he can’t start working for his new employer. Not
yet! First, his employer has to register with POEA. But there’s no need
to worry, because the process will not take longer than one month. One
month! You mean to say that the Filipino engineer has to wait for a
month before he can start working! That’s okay, says POEA. I’m sure his
family can wait for a month before he can send money for their food and
utilities.
But there’s more to it. There are more requirements that the employer has to submit. Here are the other requirements:
1. The employer must submit the following documents to POEA:
a) copies of their business registration, license, and identification paper
b) sample contracts for the OFW
c) proof that the OFW won’t be charged a placement fee (hello? it’s
called “direct-hire”)2. Pay a “performance bond” equivalent to the
worker’s salary for three months. The performance bond will be used to
guarantee compliance of the employer of the contract. So, the
performance bond will serve as a penalty fee for the employer in case
there’s a breach of contract by the employer. It’s not clear in the
memorandum if this performance bond will be given in full to the
direct-hire OFW.In the case of our OFW engineer, his employer has to pay $3,000
($1,000 x 3 months) which is approximately P120,000. This sum is to be
paid even before the OFW starts work. Wow!3. Provide a “repatriation bond” in the amount of $5,000 or
approximately P200,000. This money is to be used for the direct-hire’s
repatriation expenses in case the contract is terminated. Also, in case
the OFW dies while overseas, this money is going to be used to bring
the remains back to the Philippines.I thought the government considers OFWs as our modern-day heroes.
Then how come they can’t even afford to bring back the remains of OFWs
who die while working overseas. I thought this is why OFWs are required
to pay their PhilHealth even though they’re not in the Philippines.4. And the last requirement to get the registration process started is the submission of a Medical Insurance Certificate
Isn’t it common practice that the application for medical insurance
gets started as soon as the employee starts working? I think this is
also true for companies in the Philippines. And isn’t it true that it
takes a while before the insurance company releases the medical
insurance certificate. Sometimes, it even takes about three months
before the document is released. Wow!
In other words
If you were an employer looking for foreign workers, would you
really go through the trouble of doing all the above requirements?
Would you be willing to set aside $8,000 or approximately P320,000 so
your Filipino employee can start working for you?
I do admire our government’s high regard for our OFWs. They really
believe that employers will jump through hoops to get a Filipino worker.
I really hope that employers will do all these things to get a
Filipino worker. But what if they don’t? What if there are so many
foreign workers in the global market these days that they can easily
get workers from other countries whose governments don’t have
ridiculous requirements? What if they decide not to hire Filipino
workers? Who is going to be directly affected by this? Who is going to
suffer?
Who is going to suffer?
It’s fairly obvious that our OFWs are the ones who will be badly
affected by this memorandum and I am one of them. Whether you are an
engineer, teacher, domestic helper, nurse, doctor, or any other
overseas employee, as long as you hold a Philippine passport and you
have a job overseas, you will suffer because of this memorandum. If you
don’t lose your job now, you’ll have trouble looking for a job later.
Families who rely on remittances of their OFWs will also be badly
hit by this memorandum. How can OFWs send money home if they don’t have
a source of income because they have no work? We all know that many
OFWs have mouths to feed and siblings to help send to school.
Another victim of this memorandum will be our economy. OFWs brought
in $15 billion to our economy in 2007.(3) This amount of money is not
to be taken lightly. If you think that the call center industry is
helping our economy, then multiply it by five times and it will match
the amount of money brought in by OFWs.
And how will this affect small and big business companies in our
country? Well, let’s try to simplify it for everyone. Less employers
mean less work for our OFWs. Less work means fewer OFWs. Fewer OFWs
means less remittance. Less remittance means less “spending power” of
Filipinos. Less spending power means less money for other things.
People will only have money for their basic needs and commodities.
Other businesses will close and there will be less jobs for the
millions of Filipinos who are working in the Philippines. So they will
start to look for work overseas but they won’t be able to find any. All
thanks to Rosalinda Baldoz’s Memorandum Circular No.4.
So who’s going to suffer from this memorandum? You! Me! Everyone!
What should we do?
If you ask me, the first thing we should demand is the immediate
resignation of Rosalinda Dimapilos-Baldoz, the POEA administrator who
signed Memorandum Circular No.4. This memorandum is evidence that she
doesn’t understand the needs of OFWs and she does not deserve to be at
the helm of POEA.
Our second demand should be the immediate revocation of Memorandum
Circular No.4. We should all join the mass protest action. It’s clear
that we will all suffer because of this new policy on direct-hires.
Don’t hesitate to take it to the streets. That’s the only way we can
get their attention. Let’s show them that we are serious in demanding
for the resignation of Baldoz and the revocation of the memo.
If in case you can’t join the mass protest action, here are other ways you can help this urgent cause:
- E-mail your relatives, friends, and every one you know and ask them
to join the protest. Forward the link to this post and other posts
about this issue to your friends. There’s also a Filipino version of this post. - Text all your contacts and ask them to support our protest.
- Support the Senate inquiry of Senator Manny Villar (4). E-mail Senator Manny Villar at [email protected] or go to his website, www.mannyvillar.com.ph
- Support the Congress resolution of Representative Teddy Casino of Bayan Muna party-list (5)
- Sign the online petition (6)
- Blog and comment in blogs about Baldoz and her memorandum. When
Malu Fernandez spoke badly about the OFWs, we were quick to point out
her wrongs and we succeeded. More than ever, our OFWs need your help.
Please hear our plea.
My friend, let’s take action! Let’s demand for the resignation of Rosalinda Baldoz and for the revocation of Memorandum No.4!
