Eight (8) foreign employers are no longer allowed to hire workers from the Philippines as the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) formally disqualified them from participating in the overseas employment program of the country. The employers are banned because of failure to comply with the Philippine laws on overseas employment, grave misconduct and gross violations of Philippine laws on overseas employment.

The license of the recruitment agency, Amazon International Manpower Specialist, Inc, that handles the manpower requirements of the banned foreign employers was also revoked.

The POEA chief, Hans Leo Cacdac Jr. identified the 8 foreign employers that were banned by POEA:

1.    Lae International Hospital Ltd

2.    Al Yagoot Recruitment Office

3.    Al Huda Engineering Works, Co. WLL

4.    First Kuwaiti Trading Corporation

5.    Al Asmi Manpower Services

6.    Around the World Services/Proactive HR Solutions

7.    Hanjin Trading Company

8.    Saweed Employment LLC.

The chairman of two companies above, Mal Lewis of Lae International Hospital Ltd. based in  Papua New Guinea and Epissan Mohd Ate Ter of Al Yagoot Recruitment Office in Saudi Arabia from are also prohibited from hiring Filipino workers.

The action of the POEA against the employers and the recruitment agency is the result of the complaint filed by two applicants, Arlyn S. Pasadas and Mrynalyn J. Saguid. According to the complainants, they got a job in Albania as cook and caregiver through the help of the agency, Amazon International. They were offered a USD500 monthly salary but each of them paid more than Php100,000 for the placement fee. Although the agency has a valid POEA license, their papers did not go through the POEA process.

They left the Philippines on November 2010 using only a multiple visa instead of a working visa; an employee of the agency escorted them at the airport. They had to go back to the Philippines on January 2011 because their Albanian employer fired them when they complained about the violations in the terms stated in their work contract.

Based on the complaints, the POEA chief declared Amazon International as liable for the following recruitment violations: charging excessive fees and collecting placement fee from a household service worker, nonissuance of appropriate receipts, misrepresentation, deployment of workers to employers without POEA accreditation, and others.

The POEA chief cancelled the license of Amazon International for two counts of violation of the placement fee policy (Section 2 (b) Rule I, Part VI of the Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Land-based Workers).

As penalty for their other violations, Cacdac ordered the suspension of license for a period of eight months or fine of Php 80,000.00.The Amazon and its surety, Country Bankers Insurance Corporation, should also refund the excess amounts they collected from the complainants.

All the staff and directors of Amazon International Manpower Specialist, Inc. at the time when the offense was committed were now included in the POEA’s list of persons with derogatory records.

Other jobseekers with pending applications to the companies listed above and to Amazon International are advised by Cacdac to withdraw the documents they have already submitted and find other reliable recruiters.