Fr. Bruno Ciceri of the Stella Maris International Service Center (SMISC) in Kaoshiung with Fr. Edwin Corros of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People of the CBCP, a seminarian and the PMRW secretariat met with Admin. Rosalinda Baldoz, Atty. Romulo Salud and two POEA directors on November 2, 2005 , Wednesday to discuss some issues raised by SMISC.

From 1998 – 2004, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, then with Atty. Salud as the Labor Attaché, and SMISC had a good relationship where one would support the other in helping the migrant workers with their concerns. However when Atty. Salud's term ended and was replaced by Mrs. Beth Racio, the SMISC and MECO relationship became problematic. Certain procedures are no longer followed and assistance to migrants seemed lax.

In the meeting with POEA, Fr. Bruno enumerated the problems he is facing with MECO. He presented the current situation in Taiwan because he believes the rendering of services and protection of migrants are affected.

MECO does not seem to produce reports within the specified time given. Due to the lack of qualified interpreters, documentation and discussions of problems or concerns of the workers have been quite difficult. There is no native speaker that can assist in such dealings.

Cooperation between SMISC and MECO has changed with the arrival of the new Labor Attaché and new staff. An example given by Fr. Bruno is the response of MECO to the case of the nine workers in Silicones. These workers refused to pay the extra collection of the company which resulted in a lawsuit. The company used the Declaration of Fees of Workers Going to Taiwan as evidence against the workers. The declaration of fees includes statements regarding a loan. This was supported by a document forwarded allegedly from the POEA. The document, however, was questionable in nature since it indicated a load which the worker denies to have had and was handwritten. In this case, Mrs. Racio asked the worker to sign a document stating that the Office withdraws its services from the worker since they approached SMICS. This however was eventually revoked as Atty . Edmund Miguel O. Tangco, head of MECO, learned of the incident. Mrs. Racio also did not stop the work order for a broker even with the evidences presented to them. She is also aware of other harassments given to the workers but she does not take any action.

Fr. Bruno also presented an affidavit prepared by MECO requesting the Department of Labor to cancel or suspend the license of First Class Manpower Agency. Such a request should have been addressed to POEA. However, Admin Baldoz assured him that that request will eventually be forwarded to them and proper action will be taken.

With regard to the document released by POEA on the loans, the organization is not responsible in handling personal loans of the workers for use of placement or what so ever. The Administrator has taken note of the incident and will investigate.

Fr. Bruno discussed his concern about the direct hiring in Taiwan . He proposed that companies needing more than 150 workers must employ direct hiring. This proposal was submitted to the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA). Having the company directly involved with the hiring makes them responsible for the workers' welfare. He suggested to the Administrator to discuss this option to future forums and government discussions. Admin. Baldoz thinks that it will only be successful with the cooperation and the authority coming from the laws of the host government. Decisions for workers entering their country will be entirely up to them. According to Admin. Baldoz, this “direct hiring” proposal will be difficult because direct hiring will entail more work for the employer. Another factor is that since the brokerage industry is a big contributor to Taiwan 's economy, several opposition might come up.

Before the meeting ended, Fr. Edwin reported on the OPAs in Korea working in clubs around the US bases. This is also a concern of POEA. Admin. Baldoz suggested officially bringing the case to the Anti-trafficking Council headed by the Department of Justice.

The Administrator thanked the group for bringing the situations in Taiwan and Korea to her attention. She will try to expose the people accountable for the injustice the workers are experiencing. She also assured Fr. Bruno that if a broker is proven to have violated the workers rights then it shall be blacklisted. She also advised Fr. Bruno to send her the documents presented and a sworn statement of the workers directly for POEA to act upon. She also advised to bring the POLO concerns to the proper authority.