{"id":1199,"date":"2018-02-23T15:21:09","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T07:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/?p=1199"},"modified":"2018-02-23T15:21:09","modified_gmt":"2018-02-23T07:21:09","slug":"what-every-ofw-needs-to-know-about-poea-and-its-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/what-every-ofw-needs-to-know-about-poea-and-its-services\/","title":{"rendered":"What Every OFW Needs to Know about POEA and Its Services"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you planning to work overseas? What about an Overseas Filipino Worker who just got back in the Philippines and seeking for another job opportunity abroad? Whether you are new, old, or aspiring OFW, you will have to go through this government agency called\u00a0<strong>Philippine Overseas Employment Agency\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0<strong>POEA.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Before heading overseas &#8211; and even planning to work abroad &#8211; here&#8217;s what you need to know about POEA:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who is POEA?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>POEA is a government agency under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Its official mandate is to manage overseas employment programs by securing the best employment terms for Filipino migrant workers. At the same time, the agency is tasked to protect the rights of all OFWs and ensure fair and ethical recruitment practices.<\/p>\n<p>Keep in mind that POEA is different from OWWA, especially in terms of purpose. POEA helps aspiring OFWs to achieve legal status through proper documentation before they leave the country while OWWA handles the concerns of OFWs who are already working overseas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What does POEA do?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Overseas Employment Facilitation<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Accreditation of foreign employers who hire OFWs<\/li>\n<li>Conduct pre-employment orientation seminars<\/li>\n<li>Approve job order or request for Filipino workers<\/li>\n<li>Evaluate and process employment contracts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>Anti-Illegal Recruitment and Protection of OFWs<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Issue recruitment licenses to private recruitment and manning agencies<\/li>\n<li>Monitor and supervise manning and recruitment agencies<\/li>\n<li>Provide repatriation assistance for displaced OFWs<\/li>\n<li>Ensure that the countries allowed for deployment protect OFW rights (which must be certified by the Department of Foreign Affairs)<\/li>\n<li>Supervise anti-illegal recruitment programs throughout the Philippines<\/li>\n<li>Provide legal assistance to illegal recruitment victims<\/li>\n<li>Disseminate information about illegal recruitment, job scams, and other employment-related concerns and matters<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>Uphold Philippine Migration and Overseas Employment Laws<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hear and decide on complaints and cases, except money claims, against various entities for alleged violation of POEA rules and regulations<\/li>\n<li>Institute disciplinary actions against employers and workers who violate Philippine migration laws and regulations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Aside from these functions, POEA provides four key services for aspiring OFWs, which will be discussed in the next section.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key Services of POEA for Aspiring OFWs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Verify Status of Recruitment Agencies<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Every OFW have various reasons why they want to work abroad. The end goal is to provide a better future for the family. Sadly, illegal recruitment is still on the loose and many Filipinos are still falling for these empty promises.<\/p>\n<p>This is why the POEA aims to minimize illegal recruitment practices, starting with the checking of a particular agency&#8217;s status through its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.poea.gov.ph\/cgi-bin\/agSearch.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a>. Make sure to check the status of the recruitment agency you are eyeing for before you submit an application.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Pre-Employment Orientation Seminar<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This is different from OWWA&#8217;s PDOS where all departing OFWs are required to attend.<\/p>\n<p>Also known as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.peos.poea.gov.ph\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PEOS<\/a>, this seminar is part of the government&#8217;s drive against illegal recruitment, which aims to educate all Filipinos who plan to work abroad. It is a free online learning tool composed of eight modules such as pros and cons of working overseas, legal procedures and required documents in applying for a job abroad, and tips on how to avoid illegal recruitment.<\/p>\n<p>Take note that PEOS is a\u00a0<strong>mandatory requirements,\u00a0<\/strong>which means you have to go through this. Don&#8217;t worry. It&#8217;s online and free.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Frontline Services<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This is the part where you need to go through several processes in order to be legally documented. The frontline services are for registration and documentation among others.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to file an illegal recruitment case against an agency, the frontline services can also assist you through the Docket and Enforcement Division.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Overseas Employment Certificate Processing<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>One of the important documents you need to secure as OFW is the Overseas Employment Certificate or OEC. It serves as proof that you are a documented OFW &#8211; and POEA is the agency responsible for processing that.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/what-you-need-to-know-about-overseas-employment-certificate-or-oec\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">READ: Overseas Employment Certificate<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>For further information, you can check POEA through its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.poea.gov.ph\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a>.<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you planning to work overseas? What about an Overseas Filipino Worker who just got back in the Philippines and seeking for another job opportunity abroad? Whether you are new, old, or aspiring OFW, you will have to go through this government agency called\u00a0Philippine Overseas Employment Agency\u00a0or\u00a0POEA.\u00a0 Before heading overseas &#8211; and even planning to &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/what-every-ofw-needs-to-know-about-poea-and-its-services\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;What Every OFW Needs to Know about POEA and Its Services&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1199"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1205,"href":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199\/revisions\/1205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.balikbayad.ph\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}