Labor department hunts fake POEA advisory source

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) deplored what it called a criminal syndicate behind the manufacture of a bogus advisory purportedly issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) that lifted the suspension of deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The labor department said the authors of the fake document, Advisory No. 69, series of 2022 and dated April 4, 2022, also caused its circulation to sow confusion among the public and the workers who are seeking deployment to the kingdom.

“It is fake! There is no iota of truth to the content of that advisory,” Rolly Francia, director of DOLE’s Information and Publication Service (IPS), said, adding, “The suspension of deployment remains."

Francia said POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia confirmed that he has not signed nor issued such advisory which is meant “apparently to mislead or confuse the public on DOLE policies.”

The unscrupulous authors of the sham manufactured the document by using an old advisory and substituted its contents for it to appear as a legitimate issuance, Francia said.

“Thus, it also suggests intention to compromise the credibility of POEA and injure the current leadership of the agency,” he added.

He said DOLE is engaging law enforcement agencies to track down the source of the bogus advisory.

“We intend to apply the full force of the law to whoever is behind this very criminal act which could undermine the welfare of our migrant workers,” Francia said.

The POEA remains to operate as an attached agency of DOLE whose functions will be assumed by the newly formed Department of Migrant Workers once it is fully constituted pursuant to the law that created it.