Senate probe sought on POEA's alleged role in human trafficking

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the alleged collusion within the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) that he said leads to the trafficking and illegal recruitment of some aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFW). Senate Resolution 329 asks the Senate blue ribbon committee to investigate a complaint filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ) about alleged connivance between some POEA officers and three licensed recruitment agencies in exploiting some 100 OFWs. In the resolution, Trillanes said there was suspicion of collusion because the licenses of the agencies were already cancelled but the penalties given to them were not implemented. “A Senate inquiry in aid of legislation would help clarify the true situation within the POEA and address, through legislation, policy and structural gaps that enable wanton violations of rules, and regulations and labor laws by licensed recruitment agencies," he said. Trillanes said that from 1982 to 2011, the market for overseas workers has grown exponentially with the POEA saying that around 3,000 Filipinos leave for abroad to work daily. “The national interest clearly indicates that the global demand for Filipino workers must be balanced with the need to safeguard their rights through duly-verified job contracts, carefully-screened foreign employers, and professionally competent as well as honest licensed recruitment agencies," he said. The Philippines has been placed in the Tier 2 Watch List of the United States Department of State due to the large number of unresolved human trafficking cases, and is in danger of falling into the Tier 3 category, which would put at risk around $250 million in non-humanitarian assistance from the United States. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMANews.TV