A July 4, 2011 press release by the Department of Labor and Employment
Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz yesterday said she expects stronger alliance from local government units (LGUs) in intensifying the DOLE’s Anti-Illegal Recruitment (AIR) campaign after the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Association (POEA) recently teamed up with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in AIR orientations held in Panay, Negros Occidental, and Iloilo.
Emphasizing the exigency of bringing the nation’s fight against illegal recruiters down to the grassroots or barangay level, Baldoz expressed hope that the team-up will translate such stance into action to capacitate LGUs in the AIR war.
Baldoz, citing a report of DOLE Regional Office 6 (RO6) Director Manuel Roldan, said that more than a hundred barangay captains from the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) in various provinces across Western Visayas attended the series of orientations.
In Aklan, 52 barangay captains from Capiz and Antique joined the orientation held at the Aklan State University, while 55 barangay captains in Negros Occidental and 44 barangay heads from Iloilo were oriented at Mambukal Resort in Murcia, Negros Occidental and at the ABC Hall in Iloilo, respectively.
“Our barangay captains are the front liners who commonly interact with recruiters who go to their recruitment areas. Equipping them with the right knowledge and heightened awareness, they can already identify unscrupulous individuals who may be engaged in illegal and predatory activities including fixers, scammers, and traffickers,” Roldan said.
“By educating our barangay captains and local leaders on laws regarding illegal recruitment and human trafficking, we can already prevent such problem at the grassroots level since the hiring and recruitment of victims usually happen in the barangays,” he added.
Recognizing the significant role LGUs play as vanguards of workers’ protection in the local level, Baldoz said the anti-illegal recruitment and trafficking campaign will be more effective and successful if it is brought down to the grassroots level to cover all municipalities and barangays in the country. The campaign will be facilitated by barangay captains and officials.
“There is an urgent need to forge collaborative efforts with our local partners towards an extensive nationwide fight against illegal recruitment and human trafficking to heighten the protection and welfare of our workers,” Baldoz said, as she urged all local government officials from municipal mayors down to barangay captains to serve not only as DOLE’s campaign partners against illegal recruiters and traffickers, but also as sentinels to guard their respective localities.
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