The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Friday confirmed that at least 13 main branches of land-based private recruitment agencies have temporarily suspended their operations as the country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia, during the “Laging Handa” Public Briefing, said that the overseas employment industry was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of those severely-affected, he added, is the operations of some private recruitment agencies.

Due to the community restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Olalia said that there was a slowdown in deployment of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). This slowdown has shrunk the operations of several private recruitment agencies - prompting them to suspend their operations temporarily.

“Sa ating latest na datos, mayroon nang 13 na main branches ng ating mga private recruitment agencies na land-based na nagbigay ng notice sa POEA na sila ay pansamantalang magsasara (Based on our latest data, there are 13 main branches of private recruitment agencies that are land-based which send notice to the POEA that they will temporarily close down),” Olalia explained.

Olalia said that a total of 68 branches of those affected licensed recruitment agencies also submitted notices of temporary closure amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the land-based recruitment agencies are affected by the pandemic, Olalia said the POEA has yet to receive notices of closure from sea-based agencies. “Sa sea-based, wala naman pong nagbigay ng notice. Ang ibig sabihin nito, hindi gaanong apektado ang ating mga sea-based agencies kumpara sa land-based (For sea-based, no agency submitted any notice. This means that sea-based agencies are not as affected compared to land-based),” he added.

Given this, Olalia said that the POEA continues to look for ways to help the private recruitment agencies that have temporarily closed their operations.

“Dahil sa apektado sila, ang ibinahagi nating tulong mula sa POEA ay tayo ay nagpalabas ng mga governing board resolution (Since they are affected, POEA is helping by releasing governing board resolution),” Olalia said.

Olalia said that among the assistance provided to affected recruitment agencies is the temporary withdrawal of their escrow deposits.

“In addition to that, ang kanilang mga lisensya ay automatic nating inextend doon sa mga nag-fall ang expiration nitong panahon ng pandemic at pati accreditation ng kanilang foreign employers ay automatically extended din (In addition to that, those agencies whose licenses expired during the pandemic will be automatically extended as well as the accreditation of foreign employers),” Olalia said.

Based on the information available on the POEA website, there are over 1,200 recruitment agencies with valid licenses or that are considered “active.”