Further to Memorandum Circular No. 11, series of 2004, the following guidelines regarding the implementation of the Presidential Directive exempting authorized representatives of accredited/registered foreign principals/employers participating in recruitment of a Special Work Permit are hereby issued for the information and guidance of all concerned:

1. Coverage - These guidelines shall apply to all recruitment activities of an agency duly licensed by the POEA to be participated in by authorized representative/s of its foreign principals/employers registered or accredited with the Administration, as may be allowed under existing laws, rules and regulations.

2. Special Recruitment Authority (SRA) - Refers to the authority granted to a licensed agency to conduct recruitment outside the registered office or address stated in the license of an agency or its acknowledged additional office(s), except for recruitment activities conducted under Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Act of 1999 (R.A. 8759).

3. Letter of Acknowledgment (LOA) - Refers to a letter acknowledging the authorized representative(s) of an accredited or registered foreign principal/employer who may from time to time come to the Philippines to participate in recruitment activities within the registered business address or acknowledged additional office(s) of an agency, during the validity of accreditation/registration of said accredited/registered foreign principal/employer, which shall be valid for a period of one year from date of issuance.

4. Authorized Representative - Refers to the following:

a. Those who are included in the POEA List/Database of Accredited/Registered Foreign Principals/Employers and their authorized representative/s;

b. Those authorized by the accredited/registered foreign principal/employer to represent it in the conduct of recruitment activity in the Philippines, as may be allowed under existing laws, rules, regulations, whose authorization is duly verified by the concerned Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO).

c. Those authorized representatives of accredited/registered foreign principals/employers whose names have not yet been duly recorded/encoded in the database but certified by the Pre-Employment Service Office (PSO). vee

5. Requirements for Issuance of SRA with Participation of an Authorized Representative

a. Letter request from the agency stating the exact date and venue of the Special Recruitment Activity, as well as the name(s) of the designated representatives;

b. Copy of registration/accreditation certificate of the foreign principal/employer with valid job order/manpower request;

c. Undertaking that the agency shall take full responsibility for the acts of its representatives as well as the authorized representative/s of the accredited/registered foreign principal/employer; and

d. Verified authorization under item 4 (b) or Certification from PSO that foreign representative is an authorized representative of the agency's accredited/registered principal/employer in the case of those covered under item 4 (c).

6. Requirements for Issuance of Letter of Acknowledgement of Authorized Representatives

a. Letter request from the agency informing the Administration of the names of the authorized representatives of an accredited or registered foreign principal/employer.  The POEA shall acknowledge a maximum of three (3) authorized representatives for an accredited/registered foreign principal/employer which acknowledgment shall be valid for a period of one year from date of issuance.

b. List of officers/staff of the accredited/registered foreign principal/employer duly verified by the concerned Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO); or

c. Letter of Authority issued by the accredited/registered foreign principal/employer to engage in recruitment activity in the Philippines for and in its behalf, duly verified by the concerned POLO in case the authorized representative is not included in letter (b) hereof.

7. Where to File Application for SRA/Request for Acknowledgement - An application for issuance of SRA or Request for Acknowledgement of authorized representative(s) shall be filed with the Employment Regulation Branch, Licensing and Regulation office, this Administration

8. When to File Application for SRA/Request for Acknowledgement of Authorized Representatives

a. Special Recruitment Authority (SRA) - application for SRA must be filed at least three (3) days prior to the scheduled date of recruitment activities.

b. Request for Acknowledgement (LA) - Request for acknowledgement of an authorized representative may be filed at anytime after the foreign principal/employer has been duly accredited or registered.

9. Monitoring by the Bureau of Immigration - For monitoring purposes, the Administration shall provide the Bureau of Immigration (BI) with regularly updated list of accredited/registered foreign principals/employers and their duly authorized representative/s, copies of Letters of Acknowledgement of Authorized Representative(s) SRA's, issued for the conduct of special recruitment activities with the participation of authorized representatives of POEA registered/accredited foreign principals/employers, as well as copy of the PSO Certification of an authorized representative not yet included in the list.

10. Applicability of Memorandum Circular No. 17, Series of 2002 -The provisions of MC No. 17, series of 2002 on validity, venue. Supervision, duration, changes/amendments, submission of Reports, cancellation of SRA and conduct of special recruitment activities under the PESO Act of 1999 shall likewise apply to Special Recruitment Authorities issued under this Circular.  Further MC No. 17, Series of 2002, shall continue to apply to the conduct of interviews in Hotels within Metro Manila where there is no participation of any authorized foreign representative.

11. Sanctions - Foreign principals, employers or their authorized representatives and agencies found violating the provisions of this Circular or performing activities inconsistent therewith, shall be subject to administrative sanctions in accordance with the schedule of Penalties prescribed under existing POEA Rules and Regulations, without prejudice to any action the BI may take against the foreigner/s under immigration laws and existing issuances.

All previous issuances inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

For strict compliance.

Adopted: 21 Sept. 2004


(SGD.) ROSALINDA DIMAPILIS-BALDOZ
Administrator