21 January 2015, GMA News Online
A Hong Kong-based labor placement agency is now under preventive suspension after it was found to violate Philippine overseas employment laws, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said Wednesday.POEA administrator Hans Leo Cacdac identified the suspended agency as Helper In Employment Center,” which he said was found to engage in illegal recruitment activities of household service workers (HSWs) in the Philippines.“With the order of preventive suspension in effect, Helper In Employment Center in Hong Kong is barred from recruiting Filipino HSWs through any of its accredited licensed recruitment agencies in the Philippines,” the POEA said.Citing initial information, Cacdac said the agency hired Filipino workers through a branch “operating without the necessary license or authority.”He added the POEA already padlocked the company’s Manila office at Taft Avenue in Malate as early as last year.Investigation showed the company recruited household service workers for Hong Kong but forwarded the prospective overseas Filipino workers’ applications to SBEE International Inc., a POEA-licensed agency, for processing.