DoLE to crack down on foreign-controlled recruitment agencies

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said that it will look into recruitment agencies operating with dummy Filipino ownership that are in fact controlled by foreign nationals.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Labor Undersecretary Jacinto V. Paras that DoLE will investigate licenses of recruitment agencies that are partly owned by foreigners, to monitor compliance with the 25% cap on foreign ownership set out in the 10th Foreign Investment Negative List issued by the previous government in 2015 and left unchanged in the 11th FINL issued in October.

“We’ll be looking at license holders, especially those whose stockholders and incorporators are foreigners,” he said.

On Wednesday, DoLE consulted recruitment agency owners regarding the operations of a task force against illegal recruitment and trafficking.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Governing Board Private Sector Representative Estrelita S. Hizon said she backed a crackdown on foreign ownership beyond the allowed limits, which she said will act as a deterrent for agencies illegally operated by foreign nationals.

Ms. Hizon, who owns and operates a recruitment agency, said she wants a “twoyear” phaseout period, noting that many recruitment agencies are owned by Philippine dummies be controlled by foreign recruiters. “There are those who use a Filipino dummy but the ones behind are foreigners. That cannot be… We have a hard time because we’re following the rules,” she said on Wednesday.

Mr. Paras called the phaseout a drastic measure to completely halt foreign operation of recruitment agencies.—