Gov. Edgar Chatto led Bohol mayors in a unified commitment to curb illegal recruitment and human trafficking.

Chatto along with local chief executives of the city and municipalities signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Convergence on Illegal Recruitment-free Local Government Units with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional offices, Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

POEA Director for Licensing and Regulation Atty. Robert Larga commended Bohol on this undertaking which protects its migrant workers.

Chatto, for his part, emphasized the role of overseas employment in keeping the country’s economy afloat.

In Bohol, overseas remittances is an engine for growth, he said.

The protection of the welfare of migrant workers is a way of recognizing their contribution to growth and development, he added.

In Bohol, a Bohol Employment and Placement Office was established along with a special section that caters to OFWs.

The MOA allows for the establishment of collaborations with national government agencies and capacitating public employment service officers (PESO) to better provide access to government services.

The POEA also gathered the mayors and PESO managers for the conduct of an Anti-illegal Recruitment/Trafficking in Persons seminar and capability enhancement training.

The 2-day forum discussed laws on illegal recruitment and anti-trafficking in persons, and modus operandi of illegal recruiters. It also tackled the OFW standard employment contract, legal remedies and services for migrant workers, government programs and services, and the pre-employment orientation seminar and its effective implementation. (EDCOM)