DOLE suspends OEC processing

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced yesterday the temporary suspension of the processing of overseas employment certificates (OEC) for Filipinos applying for work abroad as part of the ongoing internal cleansing within the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III issued Department Order No. 185 suspending the acceptance and processing of OECs starting next week in view of the "persistent reports of illegal recruitment activities" within POEA.

An OEC is a document issued by POEA to Filipino applicants before they could work abroad to ensure that their employment contacts are valid.

"This Order shall be effective for 15 working days from November 13 to December 1, 2017 subject to extension as circumstances may require," Bello said.

An estimated 75,000 Filipino applicants are expected to be affected by the suspension.

Bello, however, stressed the order will not cover the following workers: Hired by international organizations and members of the diplomatic corp, seafarers, vacationing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and those who have pending OEC applications in POEA before Nov. 13.

During the suspension, POEA office-in-charge administrator Bernard Olalia will head a team, which will conduct an internal investigation on the alleged irregularities in POEA.