Saudi-bound nurses warned vs ‘Recto’ documents

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially nurses bound for Saudi Arabia, should ensure that documents provided by their recruiters are not fake, a lawmaker said yesterday.

Rep. Aniceto Bertiz III of party-list group ACTSOFW said they have received reports that FEMEX Recruitment Agency Inc. and MSL Star Human Resource Corp. were allegedly using falsified documents, which are available along Recto Avenue in Manila.

“In Saudi Arabia alone, we have responded to more than 100 requests for assistance from Filipino nurses who were arrested and jailed for forging their eligibility papers,” Bertiz said.

He said the nurses had been arrested in Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh.

“We have heard of cases of nurses with tampered papers who were either acquitted or deported after paying stiffer fines,” Bertiz said.

He said among the documents that were forged were certificates of employment.

“For instance, if the nurse lacks the required occupational experience, the recruiters will produce the papers so they can deploy the nurse and make money out of it,” he said.

Bertiz has filed House Resolution 1118 seeking an inquiry into the proliferation of fake credentials of Filipino professionals such as doctors, nurses and engineers seeking employment in Saudi.

He said they have been coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs to find ways to resolve the cases of the jailed nurses in Saudi Arabia.

“In fact, we raised the matter when Saudi Prince and Interior Minister Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif visited Malacañang on March 19. The prince assured President Duterte that they would look into the issue,” he said.

New recruitment system eyed

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is planning to adopt a new recruitment system to curb abuses and maltreatment against Filipino domestic helpers in Saudi Arabia.

Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad said the DOLE has informed the Saudi government about the Philippines’ plan to adopt the so-called “mega recruitment system.”

Under the system, Lagunzad said domestic helpers are housed in a dormitory, with mobile phones to allow them to seek help during emergencies.

He said the OFWs would be shuttled from the dormitory to their workplace.

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