Seoul Alert Over Fake AIDS Certificates
By: The Korea Times, January 13, 2010
MANILA ― The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment is cracking down on fake AIDS test certificates after 57 Filipino entertainers were deported by South Korea last year for possessing fraudulent documents.
Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the Philippine recruitment agency which issued the fake certificates would be penalized for violating the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, which provides protection to Filipinos against illegal recruiters.
The department is investigating the recruitment agency to determine if it's culpable.
Roque said of the 57 entertainers, 11 were deported on Dec. 7, another 18 on Dec. 4 and 28 in July last year for possessing fake AIDS test certificates.
As of last September, there were about 46,000 Filipinos working and living in South Korea and 3,500 of them are entertainers.
Roque issued a reminder that the AIDS test is part of the medical exam required by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for Filipinos who want to work abroad.
One of the deported entertainers told the department that her agency in the Philippines prepared and submitted all the documents, including the AIDS test certificate even though she didn't undergo the test. She was told by her agency and the Korean promoter that the AIDS test would be conducted in South Korea.
"We strongly urge the recruiters to adhere to the stringent requirements and ensure that the credentials and required certificates of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) are in accordance with international standards," Roque said in a statement.
The department said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Seoul will invite the Korean promoter to explain the fake AIDS test certificates in detail.
Lawyer Delmer Cruz, Philippine labor attache in Seoul, told The Korea Times that he talked to the three Korean promoters and they all denied any involvement in the issuance of the fake certificates.
According to Cruz, the promoters said they were not involved in the processing of the documents of the Filipino entertainers, explaining that it was the recruitment agency that handled all the paperwork.
Some of the entertainers told POLO that they didn't know that their AIDS test certificates were fake, Cruz said.
Korea Times Correspondent - Jonathan Hicap
jhicap@yahoo.com
The department is investigating the recruitment agency to determine if it's culpable.
Roque said of the 57 entertainers, 11 were deported on Dec. 7, another 18 on Dec. 4 and 28 in July last year for possessing fake AIDS test certificates.
As of last September, there were about 46,000 Filipinos working and living in South Korea and 3,500 of them are entertainers.
Roque issued a reminder that the AIDS test is part of the medical exam required by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for Filipinos who want to work abroad.
One of the deported entertainers told the department that her agency in the Philippines prepared and submitted all the documents, including the AIDS test certificate even though she didn't undergo the test. She was told by her agency and the Korean promoter that the AIDS test would be conducted in South Korea.
"We strongly urge the recruiters to adhere to the stringent requirements and ensure that the credentials and required certificates of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) are in accordance with international standards," Roque said in a statement.
The department said the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Seoul will invite the Korean promoter to explain the fake AIDS test certificates in detail.
Lawyer Delmer Cruz, Philippine labor attache in Seoul, told The Korea Times that he talked to the three Korean promoters and they all denied any involvement in the issuance of the fake certificates.
According to Cruz, the promoters said they were not involved in the processing of the documents of the Filipino entertainers, explaining that it was the recruitment agency that handled all the paperwork.
Some of the entertainers told POLO that they didn't know that their AIDS test certificates were fake, Cruz said.
Korea Times Correspondent - Jonathan Hicap
jhicap@yahoo.com
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