AP Migration Asia Pacific Migration Network ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

This assessment highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Philippines’ recruitment industry, in particular private recruitment agencies (PRAs). While the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected recruitment and deployment of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), there is little information about the impact of the pandemic on recruitment actors, in particular private recruitment agencies (PRAs). The important role of PRAs in facilitating the overseas deployment of Filipino workers is recognized by Philippine laws and policies and by policies of governments in countries of destination. How did the drastic drop in the volume of deployment in 2020 affect the operations and prospects of the Philippines’ recruitment industry? In response to the pandemic, the Integrated Programme on Fair Recruitment (FAIR), funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, launched a study in June 2020 to understand the way in which the recruitment industry in the Philippines was impacted by the pandemic. The report summarizes the findings of the assessment and identifies a number of key recommendations to assist the government and other stakeholders to ensure fair recruitment processes for migrant workers moving forward.

This thematic background paper was prepared to inform and guide the discussions of the 13th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour (AFML). The AFML is an annual multi-stakeholder forum of the ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW). The 13th AFML was hosted by the Government of Viet Nam, as the 2020 Chair of ASEAN and the ACMW, and was held on 10 and 12 of November 2020 in Hanoi, Viet Nam, and online. A draft version of this paper was distributed for discussion during the 13th AFML.