CEBU, Philippines - Cebu fifth district Representative Ramon “Red” Durano questioned the move of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to lift the suspension of “Be Glad Recruitment Agency,” the agency that illegally sent workers to Trinidad and Tobago.
Fourteen of the 23 Cebuano workers that the agency sent come from Camotes Island, which is under the fifth district.
Durano said POEA should prove that there was no collusion between its regional office and the employment agency and the best way to do so is by revoking the agency’s license the operate.
The House Committee on Overseas Affairs conducted a hearing on the issue the other day and directed POEA to furnish the committee a master list of workers, the countries they are working in, and their employers so that the government can keep track.
POEA was also required to furnish the committee a list of the agencies that are operating legally.
Another hearing is scheduled on April and the committee has directed regional officials of POEA to attend the same to shed light on the issue.
Five out of the 23 Cebuano OFWs are demanding answers from POEA why the “Be Glad Recruitment Agency” sent them abroad despite the absence of work permits.
The 23 OFW’s arrived in Cebu last year after the provincial government decided to shoulder the P1.2 million air fare for their return.
Durano subsequently filed a resolution in Congress last November, seeking a congressional investigation into the controversy.
The Cebuano overseas workers were detained for allegedly holding fake documents, which authorities discovered when the workers left their employer in Tobago for another employer in Trinidad. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/JMO (THE FREEMAN)