A Petition to Protect Filipino Migrant Teachers and All Migrant Workers

We are thus calling the attention of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). We call that these questionable placement / recruitment agencies be investigated and banned from the business of recruiting Filipino workers.

We demand that the POEA institute mechanisms for transparency in order to protect the rights of Filipino workers. We strongly suggest the online publication of the track record of all placement / recruitment agencies that includes information about violations, suspensions and complaints. We suggest further that a feedback mechanism be coordinated with labor and migrant groups where migrant workers can evaluate and rate the services provided by their respective placement or recruitment agencies.

We are also calling on the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in the US, that we know has knowledge about the issue yet fall short of concretely helping these teachers. We demand that Philippine Ambassador to the United States Willy C. Gaa initiate concrete actions to support the Filipino teachers who are victims of these agencies. We also petition for the embassy to assist the teachers, particularly those whom UPI failed to place, in finding alternative school districts.

To the Philippine Congress, we call for an investigation into the exploitative and oppressive practices of placement and recruitment agencies like PARS and UPI. We petition that a review of the laws regulating migrant labor be initiated. Further, we demand that Republic Act 8042 be strengthened to guarantee the rights and welfare of the Filipino migrant workers and to increase the penalties against those who exploit them.