TIM eMagazine Vol.3 Issue 7
Lock-out aftermath: DOLE to
repatriate 1,470 OFWs in Al
Khobar
L
abor Secretary
Silvestre Bello III
flew yesterday
for Al Khobar
with Overseas
Workers Welfare
Administrator
Hans Leo Cacdac and officials of the Department of Social Welfare
and Development (DSWD), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA),
and Department of Health (DOH) on a mission to assist some 1,470
overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) displaced by the lock-out by their
employer, Azmeel Contracting Corporation.
Based on a report received by OWWA, Bello said Azmeel
Contracting excluded its employees from their place of work after
its assets were frozen by the Saudi government. The report also said
that prior to the lockout, the employer failed to pay the workers’
four months salaries, which prompted workers to stage a protest.
Early on, Bello said that at least $50,000 was already sent as
financial assistance to the affected OFWs.
Bello added that he will be meeting with the officials of the
Ministry of Labor of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to discuss the
repatriation of our OFWs and the payment of their back wages.
“I will talk with the Minister of Labor of Saudi Arabia on
the repatriation of our OFWs and the request for the Saudi
government’s assistance to look for jobs elsewhere, as well as legal
assistance to collect their monetary claims from their employer,”
Bello said.
Bello expressed confidence that that the Ministry of Labor
will allow OFWs who wish to continue working in KSA, to transfer
to other companies, since according to the report, our kababayans
did not participate in the protest rally initiated by workers who
are nationals of other countries.
For those who would wish to be repatriated, Bello said that prior
to their return, a team composed of OWWA and DSWD will extend
counseling and debriefing to the distressed OFWs, while members
from DOH will help in providing relief and medical assistance.
“I am hoping that those who will be repatriated will be able to
join their families this coming holiday season. OWWA, the Bureau
of Local Employment and the Bureau of Workers with Special
Concerns will provide livelihood assistance for them upon their
return,” Bello added.
www.dole.gov.ph
POEA warns OFWs on unauthorized
investment schemes
T
he Philippine
Overseas Employment
Administration (POEA)
has advised overseas
Filipino workers to be
cautious in dealing with
persons or entities that
offer “high-yielding” investments without the necessary permit from the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A group of OFWs in Dammam and Al Hassa in the eastern province
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reported that they were recruited
by Sangguniang Masang Pilipino International Incorporated (SMPII), a
Philippine-based non-profit organization and encouraged them to make
an investment with ALMASAI Finance and Investment (now ALMASAI
Equity Holding Corporation).
The OFWs said they were required to put an initial investment of Php
50,000.00 with a guaranteed interest of 5 percent each month. ALMASAI
allegedly issued 13 post-dated checks—12 checks for the monthly
earning of the investment and the 13th check as payment of capital
investment.
ALMASAI, which has an office address at EDSA, Barangay Socorro,
Murphy, Cubao, Quezon City is reportedly owned by a certain Elpidio
Reyes Tanaliga Jr.
The workers, after making investments reaching up to Php100 M, are
now complaining that they are no longer receiving any of the promised
interests and have lost contact with Tanaliga. They alleged that the checks
issued supposedly for their monthly earnings were declined by the bank
due to insufficient fund.
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, ALMASAI
Finance and Investment is not a SEC-registered entity as a corporation
or as a partnership and was not also issued a secondary license
as a broker and/or dealer of securities, dealer in government
securities, investment adviser of an investment company, investment
house and transfer agent. It has not filed nor has any pending application
for primary and secondary licenses with the Commission.
ALMASAI Equity Holdings Corp., despite having been registered with
the Commission as a corporation, is not authorized to solicit investments
from the public as the said entity has not secured the necessary
secondary license or permit from the Commission as required under
Sections 8 and 12 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC). It is also
engaged in ultra vires act, or beyond one's legal power or authority, for
doing business not in accordance with its purpose of incorporation, which
constitutes serious misrepresentation as contemplated under Presidential
Decree 902-A.
Previously, the Securities and Exchange Commission has warned the
public to stop putting money in this kind of investment scheme which
may turn out to be fraudulent.
The SEC said those who invite or recruit other people to join or
invest in this venture or offer investment contracts or securities to the
public including solicitations or recruitment through the internet, may
likewise be prosecuted and held criminally liable under Section 28 of
the Securities Regulation Code. The penalty for offenders is a maximum
fine of Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00) or twenty-one (21) years of
imprisonment or both pursuant to Section 73 of the SRC.
The Commission urges anyone who has knowledge or information
regarding the operation of these entities or about any business
transaction involving these securities or investment opportunities to
report such activity immediately to the Commission so that appropriate
measures can be taken through the Enforcement and Investor Protection
Department at telephone numbers 818-6337 or 818-1898 or email
address: [email protected] www.dole.gov.ph
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