In a report released by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), majority of the Filipinos going overseas to work are young, but the trend of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are getting older are slightly growing.

The NSCB report entitled, “The Pinoy Diaspora: Where do our OFWs come from and where do they go?”, OFWs who are between the ages of 25-29 comprised about a fourth of the total number of OFWs. However, the data shows that for the last three years, there is an increase in the number of old OFWs. The OFWs in the 30 to 34 age bracket increased by 21 percent in 2008 to 21.7 percent in 2009, and 22.88 percent in 2010.

The NSCB reports show that many young Filipinos spend what is perhaps their most productive years away from their country and families.

The NSCB report posed a question “When can we offer them job opportunities so that this group of young people, many of whom are almost fresh out of college, will be directly helping our economy grow rather than those of other countries?

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Read full article about the OFW statistics. 

Overseas recruitment agencies who fail to follow the rules and regulations in hiring overseas workers face the risk of having their licenses canceled. However, even with cancelled licenses, some recruitment agencies continue to hire applicants for overseas deployment.

Such is the case with Northwest Placement Inc. and Reajent Manpower Services Inc. To make sure that these agencies will not be able to continue their illegal operations, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief, Hans Leo J. Cacdac and Vice-President Jejomar Binay, which is the head of the Presidential Task Force on Anti-Illegal Recruitment (PTFAIR), closed the offices of Northwest Placement Inc. and Reajent Manpower Services Inc.

Cacdac said, “This enforcement effort of the POEA and the Office of the Vice-President underscores the importance of punishing recruitment violators and upholding the rule of law.  And we will not rest.”

The order for immediate closure was issued by POEA after discovering that Northwest Placement Inc. continue to hire housekeepers for the United States of America even after its license was cancelled on April 25, 2012 because of the excessive fees it charged to applicants.

The office of Reajent Manpower Services Inc. was also closed by the POEA because they continue to accept applications for the position of fruit pickers for Australia that was found out to be non-existent.  Reajent was under preventive suspension since February 28, 2012.

Filipinos can now be deployed in Libya and in Northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan Region) as the government lifts the deployment ban in the said countries. The lifting means that the gobvernment deemed tyhe two countries to be safe for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

This development is expected to open more overseas job opportunities for Filipino workers. Reports from recruitment leaders say that thousands of job orders for hotel and medical workers are already waiting for OFWs in Northern Iraq and Libya.

How do you view this news? Do you agree with the government’s decision? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below:

For deploying Filipino workers toSyriadespite the existing deployment ban, recruitment agencies and nine (9) individuals are now facing illegal recruitment cases filed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

The POEA Administrator, Hans Leo J. Cacdac, said in his report to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, that their government agency assisted 26 OFWs in filing cases for possible violations of prohibited acts under Republic Act 10022 by their respective recruitment companies.

Check the full details of this OFW news. 

Warning:  A new telephone scam targeting families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has been tracked by the Philippine Embassy in London.

Based on the report of the Philippine Embassy to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), scammers target relatives of Filipino workers in London to obtain money.

Their modus: Scammers who claims to be an agent or officer of Philippine Embassy in UK will contact the family of an OFW in UK to inform them that their relative has been arrested or  has been involved in an accident. They will inform the family to send money immediately to release their relative from prison or hospital and to process his/her documents to send him/her back to the Philippines.

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