Guam will soon be another viable destination for Filipinos who want to work abroad because a new US territory in Guam is expected to create 15,000 job openings that are highly possible to be offered to Filipinos.

Jennifer Manalili, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Chief informed that the job vacancies are for the relocation of the US military base from Okinawa Japan to Guam. This project that is set to start next year has a  budget of USD 10.3 billion.

The president of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI), Edward Beech, expressed confidence that the job openings in Guam would be given to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) because of their reputation of being hardworking and professional. 

In a TV interview done by GMANews.TV, Beech said, “Guam does not have enough people and they are an aging population so they need foreign workers. Wala naman silang ibang makukuhanan. So it’s almost in the bag."

Beech uttered the above statement after a lunch meeting of POEA and PASEI officials with Guam delegation led by Gov. Felix Perez Camacho.

Manalili also said that Filipino workers to be hired in Guam would not have to pay any placement fee because a new policy in America prohibits collection of placement fees in the recruitment of foreign workers. The rules apply to US mainland and the territories.

Noel Lintan, a Pasei officer said that hired OFWs would be offered a monthly salary of USD2,200 or more or less Php100,000.

However the POEA administrator reminds the public that hiring for the jobs vacancies in Guam is yet to start.

Manalili said, “We’d also like to caution (Filipino workers) because we’re still in the middle of discussion. Pag nag-start yung project dun pa lang may vacancies, ngayong 2009 wala pa naman, kaya ayaw muna naming announce."

Though the recruitment has not started yet, the Philippines received an assurance from the Guam governor that his country is doing everything it can to settle the deal.

The governor from Guam said, “We can make it work but we first need to find a balance between what the US and Japanese government and private contractors want."