House passes bill redefining illegal recruitment syndicates on final reading
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has approved on final reading a measure that is seen to allow better prosecution of human traffickers by amending the definition of an illegal recruitment syndicate and reducing the minimum number of perpetrators to two from three.
Under House Bill 7718, which was unanimously approved with 260 favorable votes Monday, the country’s existing laws will be tweaked to specify that the offense of illegal recruitment by a syndicate can now be done by two individuals who do not possess licenses or authority.
The measure is seen to make it easier for government prosecutors to pursue charges against syndicates without licenses illegally recruiting Filipinos, “as two or more persons conspiring or confederating with one another would be sufficient,” according to the committee report on the bill.
Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers Act and the country’s labor code currently qualify illegal recruitment committed by a syndicate if it is carried out by a group of three or more persons. It does not distinguish if the crime is committed by non-licensees or non-holders of authority.
Rep. Ron Salo (Kabayan Partylist), House overseas workers committee chairperson, said amending RA 8042 through this bill is “one step closer” to protecting overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from illegal recruitment activities that take advantage of them.
Decreasing the minimum number required to define an illegal recruitment syndicate to two from three would also deter groups from skirting the “harsher penalties” provided by the crime of illegal recruitment by syndicate, Salo said during the plenary session for the bill’s aproval on second reading on May 10.
If enacted into a law, the amendment will make it easier for the government to prosecute the crime and “deter these malevolent entities from pursuing their illegal activities and take advantage of the plight of our OFWs," Salo added.
In 2010, Mary Jane Veloso was arrested in Indonesia after illegal drugs were found inside her luggage. She has maintained her innocence and asserted that her Filipino recruiters were behind the scheme.
The job recruiters who facilitated Veloso's entry into Indonesia were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2020 for large-scale illegal recruitment against three other jobseekers in Nueva Ecija. Court records showed that the two recruiters who attempted to recruit people for employment abroad did not have a license from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to do so.
POEA tips to avoid illegal recruitment are listed here, which include reminders to avoid unlicensed recruitment agencies and fixers, among others. — with reports from The STAR / Evelyn Macairan
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