POEA opens Bicol regional office to address human trafficking cases

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has reopened its office in the Bicol region to address the rising number of human trafficking cases in the poorest provinces in the area. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the POEA office will not only help outbound workers but will also help deter human trafficking or the illegal trade in human beings. Human trafficking is also called "modern day slavery" and its victims fall prey to forced labor or sexual exploitation. Baldoz said the POEA office, which reopened in the first week of June, will attend to the grievances of workers who have become victims of fixers, scammers and traffickers. “The department through the POEA is exerting all efforts towards a nationwide zero tolerance to any irregularities in the overseas employment sector especially in the regions," Baldoz said. The POEA office will conduct pre-employment seminars to help outbound workers avoid scammers and human traffickers. The POEA will also provide legal assistance to victims of human trafficking in the region. According to DOLE figures, about five percent of the country’s eight million migrant workers come from the Bicol region. - ELR/VVP, GMA News