Question: What shall I do if the recruitment agency asked me to sign a different contract from the first contract I signed?  Is this legal?

DOLE Answer: It depends. This is called contract substitution, which is legal if the terms and conditions of the new contract are superior to the first contract. Otherwise, if the new contract is less beneficial to you, that is illegal.

If the recruiter forces you to sign an inferior contract before you leave the country, be sure to get a copy and file a complaint at the POEA Anti-Illegal Recruitment Branch, or call the POEA Hotline at 722-1144 or 722-1155.

If this happens at the airport before your flight, immediately inform the Labor Assistance Center found in all international airports or any security personnel in the vicinity.

This is an excerpt from a handbook provided by the Department of Labor and Employment entitled, “Employment Guide to Students and Jobseekers.” The said handbook that contains useful information for Filipino job-hunters can be downloaded here:

DOLE’s “Employment Guide to Students and Jobseekers” :
Free Download

An agency that recruits Filipino workers to Canada, Nanhaya International Recruitment, Inc. loses its license for allegedly violating laws on Philippine overseas employment. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) also bans Go West International, its partner placement agency in Canada from recruiting workers from the Philippines.

According to an advisory posted in the official website of POEA, Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac said that the complaint against Nanhaya was initiated by their agency on September 2012 because of the following violations: illegal collection of placement fee, misrepresentation, and other recruitment violations.

Read more about this story by clicking the link below:
POEA Cancels License of Agency Recruiting OFWs in Canada, Ban its Overseas Partner

Two recruitment agencies will be investigated regarding their involvement in the deployment of six (6) Filipino household service workers (HSWs) that were earlier rescued by Malaysian authorities.

The two concerned agencies are Philquest International Management and Service Contractor and Greenworld Placement Services. Baldoz ordered the investigation upon receiving the report of the rescue from the Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia, Alicia D. Santos.

She said, “The POEA needs to find out why these agencies, one of which its license has been cancelled, was still able to deploy workers to Malaysia.”

Read complete story regarding the recruitment agencies that are under investigation. 

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Chief, Hans Leo Cacdac Jr. instructed the POEA Anti-Illegal Recruitment Branch and PNP-MPD headquarters to padlocked the office of West Coast Maritime Services at Room 420, 4^th Floor,Vicente Madrigal Building, Escolta Street,Manila. The order was given after it was confirmed that the said manning agency is actively recruiting Filipino seamen without license from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and POEA.
According to the POEA Chief, the agents of POEA’s AIR Branch conducted a day-long surveillance to gather evidence that the West Coast Maritime Services is indeed engaged in illegal recruitment activities.

Cacdac said, “West Coast Maritime Services has committed acts of illegal recruitment as defined by Republic Act No. 8042 and the Philippine Labor Code that justified the closure order.”

Along with the closure of its office, all officers and staff of West Coast Maritime Services can no longer take part in the overseas employment program of the Philippines as their names will be included in the List of Persons and Establishments with Derogatory Record.

To avoid being a victim of illegal recruitment, always make sure that your agency has a valid POEA license. View list of POEA-Licensed Manning Agencies.  

Due to the complaints filed by twelve (12) seafarers, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) suspended the license of a manning agency and banned two foreign employers from taking part in any overseas recruitment in the Philippines.

The seafarers went to the POEA Anti-Illegal Recruitment Brach to file separate complaints against JMP Polaris Navigation, Inc., Menh Hao fishery, Co. Ltd and Jui Wun Fishery, Ltd for alleged contract substitution, misrepresentation, and maltreatment. They also claims that the agency collected bribe money from them.

Read full article about the complaints of seafarers against an agency and two foreign employers.