foreign employers who want to hire filipino workers without using the services of local recruitment agencies must obtain approval from the department of labor and employment, the philippine overseas employment administration governing board has ruled.
in a board resolution, the poea board repealed a section of the rules covering the recruitment of land-based overseas workers, which allowed the registration with the poea of "name hires" as an exemption from the ban on direct hiring.
"name hires" refer to workers who obtain employment on their own without the participation of recruitment agencies.
registration with the poea gives overseas workers such benefits as insurance and health care, education and training, family welfare services as well as protection and assistance in their place of work.
the labor code prohibits an employer from hiring filipino workers for overseas employment, except through the boards (the poea) or entities authorized by the secretary of labor.
. . .
foreign employers who are accredited with private recruitment agencies are not allowed to directly hire filipino workers, according to poea administrator rosalinda dimapilis-baldoz.
the new measure will cover directly hired ofws like nurses.
this board resolution sounds like it was tailor-made for nurses.
around 2 years ago, there were news articles about the philippine government complaining about direct hires--they don't go through the poea, thus the philippine government "loses" $88 million dollars a year. the plan at that time was to charge $10,000 to $20,000 per nurse--if i recall correctly.
(i can't find the specific article right now, there are lots of dead links from philippine news websites.)
i guess this action is meant to "plug the hole."
now there's another road block for us hospitals to hire from the philippines.
for a us hospital to go to the philippines for a hiring seminar, it has to pay a fee.
now for every hire, there is the implied additional fee for "such benefits as insurance and health care, education and training, family welfare services as well as protection and assistance in their place of work."
this would also be a road block for those thinking of the adjustment of status route.
add the movement to shut down an agency--which could dampen hiring by other agencies...and there's fewer incentive to hire philippine nurses.
so what's left?
1. hardy agencies willing to risk petitioning for filipino rns who have the right to jump ship anytime.
2. us hospitals who will still hire directly in spite of the added fees.
3. adjustment of status questionable: this depends on the implementing rules from the poea. if approval is to be secured prior to leaving the philippines, then there's the intent to migrate right there--automatic denial. if it's after leaving the philippines, the question is who pays for implied fee.
with the cost-cutting going on in some us hospitals, they might not be able to pay the additional fee.
the other option is to get the fee from the nurse via salary deduction.
$10,000 is around 2 1/2 months net pay of a nurse.
$4,000 a month is not a lot because the cost of living in the us is higher. rent is almost 1/3 of the monthly salary.
i don't know what the philippine government is doing.
first it required training for "super maids" who supposedly know cpr, then doubled their salary from $200 to $400 a month...and hiring immediately went down.
now the philippine government is doing the same thing to nurses, adding a huge fee.
i would like to point out that us hospitals had been getting nurses from a lot of other countries aside from the philippines.
it is a literal melting pot in us hospitals.
i just hope this policy does not shut out philippine nurses from us hospitals.
hundreds of thousands of filipino nurses with all the certificates and licenses...with nowhere to go to.
that's how corrupt some of our government agencies!
another type of milking cow from ofw is the philhealth which also happened to me. i paid a premium every year and you have to pay it once for one-year validity but all your contribution are useless once your premium for the next month is missed and unfortunately it is the time that you are going to use it as your loved ones got sick and confined in the hospital.
actually i dont know the process when it comes to ofw papers! is philhealth compulsary especially to ofw?? you see i know some people who are not a member! i think my sister is not a member and she's working in saudi
actually i dont know the process when it comes to ofw papers! is philhealth compulsary especially to ofw?? you see i know some people who are not a member! i think my sister is not a member and she's working in saudi
from news articles, it is compulsary.
a friend (who works in another asian country but not as a nurse)--said when the immigration personnel at the naia asked him about purpose of travel outside the philippines and he answered "work"...the immigration personnel refused to let him leave the country until after he joined the poea and paid the fees. he had to take a taxi to the poea office in the other naia. you can just imagine his anxiety with the heavy traffic around our airports--he made it to the plane with less than 10 minutes to spare. (this happened 1 1/2 years ago, i don't recall the exact details) thereafter, he had to go to the poea office each time before he left the philippines.
nurses who will be leaving the philippines would be better sources of information as they would be a more reliable indictor for other nurses.
a friend (who works in another asian country but not as a nurse)--said when the immigration personnel at the naia asked him about purpose of travel outside the philippines and he answered "work"...the immigration personnel refused to let him leave the country until after he joined the poea and paid the fees. he had to take a taxi to the poea office in the other naia. you can just imagine his anxiety with the heavy traffic around our airports--he made it to the plane with less than 10 minutes to spare. (this happened 1 1/2 years ago, i don't recall the exact details) thereafter, he had to go to the poea office each time before he left the philippines.
really? considering your experience and other ofw, well i guess it does have alot of advantages for those in the government sector! making money out of other people's pocket! :angryfire
an article on emigration as a career path for filipinos.
eight million filipinos now live and work in over 190 countries, and about 3,000 leave every day.
i was quoting outdated data in my previous posts.
many filipino migrants don't look back. our "balik scientists" program never took off. "economic difficulties are still crucial in people's decisions as to why they migrate abroad," asis said. poverty, lack of jobs and the resulting crimp on rising aspirations drive people to the nearest exit.
duh.
mass media show the young that penury is not inevitable, that governments need not be rapacious. many nations, in fact, have governments that are accountable to citizens. that contrasts with ping-pong shifts in governing here between crooked rulers like the arroyo regime and a fraudulent opposition like the estrada brigade.
our government, then and now, uses migration to vent pressure from unemployment. but many still can't get jobs. then and now, population grew without a pause. the country didn't make a "demographic transition" from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as did other countries.
then and now, heftier benefits and better working conditions abroad draw the skilled and educated.
double duh.
"the landmark 1995 migrant workers and overseas filipinos act was the first law in asia that provides protection for ofws," asis points out.
Stricter rules on direct hiring of OFW was issued recently by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. The rules which takes effect on January 15, 2008 allows direct hiring of OFWs by foreign employers only upon approval by the Secretary of Labor and subject to screening of employers and employment contract verification by the Labor Attaché or the Philippine Embassy.
Direct hiring may be allowed only for members of the diplomatic corps and of international organizations, government officials of ministerial level, and employers who are hiring on one-time or trial basis. The number of employees to be hired directly shall not exceed 5.
Employers will likewise comply with stricter documentation and processing requirements which include the posting of repatriation bond in the amount of US$5000 per employee to guarantee the repatriation of the worker or of his remains, in the event of death, and performance bond of US$3000 per employee to guarantee payment of the employee's salary for the duration of the employment contract. The bonds should be secured from local bonding companies. They will also provide the employees with health and medical insurance.
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OFW's and concerned Filipino citizens are signing up for the Abolition of (POEA) Memorandum Circular No. 4:
Under the new rules, direct hiring of OFWs by foreign employers will be allowed upon approval by the Secretary of Labor and subject to screening of employers and employment contract verification by the labor attaché or the Philippine embassy.
In addition, direct hiring will also be allowed only for members of the diplomatic corps and of international organizations, government officials of ministerial level, and employers who are hiring on one-time or trial basis.
The number of employees to be hired directly shall not exceed 5.
The new rule also directs the employers to comply with stricter documentation and processing requirements. This includes the posting of repatriation bond in the amount of US$5,000 per employee to guarantee the repatriation of the worker or of his remains, in the event of death, and performance bond of US$3,000 per employee to guarantee payment of the employee's salary for the duration of the employment contract.
just want to clarfy... does the new rules of the poea includes working visas issued after implementation even though it was already on the process before the implementation? like it was just delayed because of the time alloted processing of the embassy?
just want to clarfy... does the new rules of the poea includes working visas issued after implementation even though it was already on the process before the implementation?
from the experiences of other ofws, the answer is yes... some of them got a shocking experience when they were about to leave the country, and were held by our own people.
as lawrence pointed out in the linked thread, only green card holders are exempt--all others are supposed to pay up before they can leave.
"for years now, the philhealth is still working on its database network. the inefficiency of the recording system has already victimized a number of returning ofws through 'double payment,' said lito soriano, a leader in the recruitment industry.
he said that some ofws who returned to the philippines in less than a year after departure were made to pay the philhealth premium again for failing to show their updated member's data record (mdr) card.
soriano cited the case of justice artemio panganiban's son, who was made to pay the insurance premium again when, due to an emergency, he returned to the country a few months after his departure.
specifically for nurses in the us: only green card holders are exempt.
those on working visas, or on eads with advanced paroles, are required to pay up.
(1.) it's really sad that some of the victimized ofws had to go home due to an emergency.
(2.) there is no mention of refunding the double payment, or of crediting this for the succeeding year. where did the money go?
the philippine overseas employment administration requires returning ofws to secure overseas employment certificates (oecs) before they are allowed to go back to their work abroad from vacation or from leave of absence.
as a matter of policy, the poea would not issue an oec without proof that an ofw had paid his or her philhealth contribution for the period covered by his or her work contract.
keep this "proof of payment" in your passport or you won't be able to exit the philippines.
"of course, returning ofws would not be made to pay for paid-up contributions again, if say, they returned to the country on the sixth month of their one-year premium coverage," she said.
"they have to show receipts or their updated mdrs to prove they had paid their contributions," she added.
about 500,000 of the 1.2 million members of the overseas workers program (owp) of the philippine health insurance corporation are inactive, an official of philhealth has said.
"in my initial review of the owp database, i discovered that about 500,000 (41.6 percent) of our members are inactive. but i still have to crosscheck the figures," said greg rulloda, philhealth's vice president.
interesting weasel words, "but i still have to crosscheck the figures."
other news sources estimate that 10% of the philippine population are working abroad: 10% of the estimated philippine population of 90 million is 9 million, not 1.2 million.
this government official might have understated the actual figure by 90%--because it's easy to make ballpark calculations, thus the weasel words.
because if this little man is using political speak, the 41% part might be true: meaning 41% of 9 million--3,690,000 ofws--are inactive.
this means that 59% of 9 million--5,310,000 ofws--are active, or paying their monthly dues.
this is significant, as 5,310,000 is a powerful compounder: if each of these ofws pay us$10 each, that's an easy us$53,100,000 per month!
us$637,200,000 per year.
p25,488,000,000 per year.
that's p25.488 billion.
assuming that i overestimated the figure--let's say they only get p1 billion per year--allocating p6 million per year is ridiculous.
"overseas filipino workers (ofws) tend to forget their monthly dues. the database system automatically reports as inactive expired membership," rulloda told radio host ma. fe nicodemus of kakammpi, an organization of migrant workers and their families.
monthly dues?
what monthly dues???
anybody know what this guy is talking about???
"philhealth is asking members to update their membership to avoid problems over claims later," rulloda added.
we know what problems ofws run into when they "tend to forget" their monthly dues.
ofws get held at the airport, sometimes getting their passports confiscated.
he also noted that the program would adopt electronic-registration and electronic-payment system early in 2008 to help members do transactions with philhealth anytime, anywhere.
amazing concept.
"anytime, anywhere."
i wonder what the philhealth benefit an ofw will get when he gets sick--will the amount be enough for a cbc in italy?
will the amount be enough for a hemoccult stool in the us?
in august this year, philhealth introduced its expanded and enhanced outpatient benefit (opb) package.
it set aside p6 million for the initial implementation of opb services from july to december 2007.
this is the funny part.
using this government official's own understated figures: 1.2 million ofws, of which 500,000 are inactive...these means 700,000 are paying ofws.
now divide p6 million by 700,000 and you get p8.57 per paying ofw.
what the eff do you get for p8.57???
p8.57 is us$0.21!
but wait--philhealth includes your dependents. assuming they estimate 1 dependent per member, it's p4.285, or us$0.105, per beneficiary.
these services are consultations, diagnostic services, preventive and promotive health services and other tests.
examinations that fall under the promotive and/or preventive health services are periodic digital rectal exam, visual acetic acid screening for cervical cancer, periodic clinical breast exam and nutrition or dietary counseling.
visual acuity exam, psychological evaluation and debriefing, auditory evaluation and treatment for urinary tract infection, upper respiratory tract infection and acute gastro-enteritis are also part of the owp package.
as earlier announced, these services were supposed to be available at all department of health accredited hospitals in various parts of the country beginning october 2007.
amazing to learn that p8.57 can get you all these benefits.
oh, i remember--a lot of the doh accredited hospitals are manned by underpaid resident doctors and nurses who pay for the privilege of (over)working there.
this means the government budget can be used for hospital supplies...not.
a friend who works in a government hospital told me patients usually have to buy their own supplies outside, in bambang or quiapo.
patients also had to pay for some of the lab tests.
this webpage contains all the benefits available to members--note the sa pilipinas lamang ("only in the philippines") tags in some of the benefits.
but wait--there's more!
the last section details confinement abroad! so ofws can avail of the benefits outside the philippines! it does not indicate how much these benefits are, though.
if we're going to use the stated benefits on this webpage though, it's p400 per day for case types a to c--that's us$10 per day--and p1,035 per day for case type d (icu?)--us$25.875.
morale of the story for ofws: if you're gonna get sick, get sick in the philippines.
i do have to wonder where in the philippines you'll get a hospital room for p400 per day. there is a list of 14 hospitals in the ncr where you can avail of the benefits...but after rotating through some of them, i definitely would not want to be confined in them: jose reyes memorial medical center, san lazaro hospital, dr. jose fabella memorial hospital, national center for mental health.
can we petition our congressmen to require government officials and their family members to be confined in these hospitals when they get sick?
so they'll get an idea of the real world?
or is this part of the philippines as an enchanted kingdom mentioned by another government official?
lawrence01
2,860 Posts
these are all very true. i commend the author of this article. he did his research extensively.