A Filipino computer technician got the shock of his life when he learned that his working visa was for a gas station attendant, which didn't match his profession! The man, only identified by his initial B.B., got an advice from Labor Secretary Marianito Roque who came here Saturday on an official visit. “Even at the airport, I already sensed that there was a problem,” the man said. “An immigration official stopped me but let me in after my agency intervened,” the man said. Later, he learned that his visa was for a gas station attendant and could not believe that he would end up selling fuel rather than computers. He said he was made to sign a blank paper just before he was about to get inside the airport in Manila. When he arrived in the Kingdom, he was told that he had to pay his employer SR500 for six months for placement fees. “The agency should be held accountable,” said Roque, who came here to relay President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's message to Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minister, Minister of Defense, and Inspector General, after the prince's recovery from his illness. Roque said workers have the right to seek redress as in the case of B.B. because an agency's responsibility was not over until an OFW finally comes home. Filipino officials said contract substitution and non-payment of wages are among the many problems facing both OFWs and Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO). While Philippine laws carry stiff penlaties for such labor misdeeds, some recruitment agencies in the Philippines circumvent the law in many ways.Under the law, the liability of the employer and the recruitment agency for any violation of a worker's contract is a joint responsibility of both the employer and the recruitment agency. The provisions are incorporated in the contract and are a condition before the contract is approved. Such liabilities take effect during the entire duration of the employment contract and shall not be affected by any substitution, amendment or modification made locally or in a foreign country. Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor and POLO staff hosted a dinner for Roque Saturday. Present were Labor Attachés Rustico dela Fuente, Des Dicang, Adam Musa, Walfredo Villazor, Welfare Officers Nestor P. Burayag, Dr, Thomas V. Octavio, Atty. Ceasar L. Chavez, Jr., Abdullah T. Odin and Atty. Alex Vallespin. Also present at he dinner were Bagong Bayani Awardees Engr. Robert Ramos, Gerico Canlapan, and Joseph Magdalena and selected community leaders.
