MANILA — The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has regained the authority to issue licenses to recruitment and placement agencies, over a year after the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assumed the said responsibility.
Through DOLE Administrative Order (AO) 443-2018, issued by DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III, the licensing authority has been given back to POEA on matters involving overseas employment.
“The authority to act on overseas employment-related matters is given back to the administrator of POEA, serving as the authorized representative of the Labor Secretary,” the order said.
Based on the AO, the applications of recruitment and placement licenses shall be filed with and processed by the POEA in accordance with existing rules and regulations.
It also gives the POEA the authority to issue and renew the licenses and authorities to engage in the recruitment and placement of workers for overseas employment; grant exemptions from the age requirement for overseas workers; and issue appropriate orders, decisions, and resolutions.
“The administrative order is issued to streamline administrative procedures, thus promote the welfare and protection of Filipino migrant workers,” Bello added.
In June 2017, Bello issued Administrative Order 241, giving him the authority over matters related to the issuance and renewal of licenses; authority to engage in the recruitment and placement of workers for overseas employment; to grant exemptions from the ban on direct hiring; and to grant exemptions from the age requirement for overseas workers. -PNA
