c. Entities Prohibited from Overseas Recruitment

General Rule

No employer may hire a Filipino worker for overseas employment except through the Boards and entities authorized by the Secretary of Labor [Art. 18].

As a rule, employers may not directly hire an Overseas Filipino Worker for overseas employment; direct hiring is allowed in exempt cases, subject to applicable requirements [Secs. 123–124, 2016 Revised POEA Rules and Regulations].

Entities Disqualified from Engaging or Participating in the Business of Recruitment and Placement of Workers for Overseas Employment

• Travel agencies and sales agencies of airline companies, whether for profit or not [Art. 26];
• Officers or members of the Board of any corporation or partners in a partnership engaged in the business of a travel agency;
• Corporations and partnerships, where any of its officers, members of the board or partners is also an officer, member of the board or partner of a corporation or partnership engaged in the business of a travel agency;
• Individuals, partners, officers, or directors of an insurance company who make, propose or provide an insurance contract under the compulsory insurance coverage for agency-hired OFWs;
• Sole proprietors, partners or officers and members of the board with derogatory records, such as, but not limited to the ff:
• Those convicted or against whom probable cause or prima facie finding of guilt is determined by a competent authority for illegal recruitment or for other related crimes or offenses committed in the course of, related to, or resulting from, illegal recruitment, or for crimes involving moral turpitude;
• Those agencies whose licenses have been revoked for violation of RA 8042, PD 442, RA 9208, and their IRRs;
• Those agencies whose licenses have been cancelled, or those who, pursuant to the order of the Administrator, were included in the list of persons with derogatory record for violation of recruitment laws and regulations;
• Any official or employee of the DOLE, POEA, OWWA, DFA, DOJ, DOH, BI, IC, NLRC, TESDA, CFO, NBI, PNP, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, international airport authorities, and other government agencies directly involved in the implementation of RA 8042, as amended, and/or any of his/her relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity [Part II, Rule I, Sec. 3, 2016 Revised POEA Rules and Regulations].