POEA: Recruitment of seamen at Rizal Park illegal
MANILA, Philippines–All recruitment activities at Rizal Park in Manila are illegal without a special recruitment authority from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the government agency said on Tuesday.
POEA rules prohibit recruitment or manning agencies from conducting recruitment drives in places under than that specified in their license unless authorized by the agency, according to POEA chief Hans Leo Cacdac.
“Because of reported hiring malpractices, the POEA stopped in 2009 the issuance of SRA to manning agencies, and ordered those occupying booths managed by the Luneta Seafarers’ Welfare foundation, Inc. (LUSWELF) at Rizal Park to end their recruitment activities or face administrative sanctions,” Cacdac said in a statement.
He said the POEA had already suspended the license of 12 manning agencies and also fined them for recruiting seamen in Rizal Park (also known as Luneta Park) without an SRA, or the authorization for manning agencies to recruit outside their official address specified in their license.
Cacdac issued the statement as seamen continue to flock to the outdoor area of Rizal Park near the National Library to find work abroad.
Over the years, seafarers have converged in that portion of the park to look for jobs on foreign ships because it is near the licensed manning agencies in Ermita and Intramuros.
The Associated Marine Officers and Seaman’s Union of the Philippines had proposed that the area be turned into a center for seafarers from the provinces looking for work or waiting to board their ship, the POEA said.
The idea evolved into a center where information about seafaring can be posted and discussed. The AMOSUP then turned over the management of the center to LUSWELF, the POEA added.
In 2007, the POEA signed an agreement with LUSWELF and began to conduct orientation seminars and distribute information materials for seamen going to the center.
LUSWELF then rented out booths to manning agencies wanting to recruit seamen in the area while the POEA issued the necessary SRAs.
But in April 2009, the Joint Manning Group, which includes several associations of manning agencies, urged its members to pull out of the LUSWELF center because “the objectives of the center were no longer met,” the POEA said.
Cacdac urged seafarers to file their applications directly at the registered office address of their manning agencies.
