The implementation of the Saudi’s unified contract scheme, a proposed system in the recruitment and deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound to Saudi Arabia is indefinitely suspended. This new development is the result of the agreement reached by authorities of recruitment agencies in the Philippines and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Overseas Placement Association of the Philippines (OPAP) and Federated Association of Manpower Exporters (FAME) president, Mr. Ed Mahiya, expressed the gratefulness of the overseas employment industry to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for bringing up this issue with the Saudi officials. Read more.

Two government agencies, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) unite in saying that the deployment ban of Filipino workers to Jordan and Lebanon is till being implemented.

The DFA spokesman Claro S. Cristobal said, “There is still a full deployment ban to Lebanon and a partial ban to Jordan, meaning there should be no new deployment there.

The statement of Cristobal was confirmed by DOLE secretary, Marianito D. Roque. He said, “There are many reasons why we don’t want to send workers to Jordan. There’s the economic situation there and the welfare of our workers. As for Lebanon, we respect the DFA’s position on the peace and order situation there.”

According to DOLE, existing contracts in Lebanon will be honored as long as the workers can show proper documentation.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) informed that job prospects are bright for Filipino cooks/chefs abroad. Filipino culinary experts are urgently needed in counties such as United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Foreign countries prefer Filipino cooks because of their proficiency in communicating with the English language and excellent work ethics. Aside from restaurants, Pinoy cooks can choose from other work setting such as hotels, food courts, hospitals and cruise liners. Read more.

A number of unsuspecting Filipino workers have been victimized by illegal recruiters that offer fake jobs in Macau, prompting Senate President Manuel Villar to issue a warning to hopeful OFWs.

Villar said, “This week, I have received reports that batches of our countrymen have arrived in Macau as tourists, hopeful of finding employment promised by their recruiters who disappeared. This must be stopped.” Read more.

To avoid illegal recruiters, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reminds applicants to be extra cautious of fake overseas jobs that are offered though the net.

According to the POEA administrator, Jennifer Manalili, the reports she received said that these scammers lure applicants by pretending to represent big companies abroad. They also post non-existent job vacancies in legal job sites and send employment contracts through email.

One example is Emirate Recruitment Inc. that claims to be based in the United Kingdom and represent the International Airline of United Arab Emirates (the Emirates). They post bogus job vacancies at www.naukri.com, an online job search company based in the Gulf Region and India.

The vice president for Recruitment of the Emirates Airline, Rick Helliwel, said through the Industrial Personnel And Management Services, Inc. (IPAMS), its official agent in the Philippines, that they are not in any way connected with Emirate Recruitment Inc.

To be safe, Manalili advise applicants to fist check with POEA the legitimacy of a job offer before sending money to a recruiter.