MANILA, March 10 — The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has launched a Women’s Desk that will provide free legal assistance to female workers who have complaints relating to employment overseas.
“With this move, our women workers will be able to openly disclose sensitive matters, thus, facilitating the adjudication of cases involving women,” POEA Administrator Jennifer Jardin-Manalili said.
The desk, launched in observation of the National Women’s Month, is located at the ground floor lobby of the POEA Bldg. along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Mandaluyong City.
The POEA also inaugurated the Gender and Development Hearing Rooms at its Adjudication Office at the third floor of the same building.
To promote gender sensitivity, women adjudicators are assigned as hearing officers to handle cases of female workers, particularly household service workers and those in the vulnerable categories who may have been victims of abuse, rape and similar incidents.
The POEA will provide free legal assistance to distressed female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to help resolve issues regarding misrepresentation of contracts, unfair work conditions, salary issues, among others, Manalili said. (PNA) scs/MPC