Imee pushes for employment assistance for Ilocos Norte folks

By Freddie G. Lazaro

LAOAG CITY – Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos pushed reinforcement of hands-on employment assistance for Ilocano job-seekers, overseas Ilocano residents, and returnees during a meeting with the representatives of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) at the provincial capitol here.

The governor made the call during the signing of a memorandum of understanding between officials of the provincial government, local government units and representatives of the POEA, Technical Education, and Skills Development Authority, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and Department of Labor and Employment.

The MOU aims to establish an information campaign against illegal recruitment, recruitment violators, and human trafficking.

Lawyer Jesus Gabriel Domingo, POEA deputy administrator on licensing and adjudication, said the MOU seeks to establish an information campaign for the welfare of the sector.

“By information dissemination, we can save a lot of lives. It is the LGUs mandate to protect its constituents, while our office is mandate to protect job applicants and at the same time OFWs from abuse,” he said.

On the other hand, Marcos emphasized that illegal recruitment is actually not the primary concern in the province.

“We are proud to say that here in the province, there have been little incident of illegal recruitment. Habang nandito ako sa Ilocos Norte, isang insidenteng illegal recruitment pa lamang ang nangyayari,” Marcos said, pinpointing that information dissemination is already widespread among localities.