Only 2 percent of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were deployed globally from January to November this year, according to a recruitment consultant.

The POEA earlier said the actual OFW deployment for 2009 reached 1.23 million, adding that the global financial crisis has made little impact on the deployment of workers abroad. The total number reportedly increased by 11.7 percent from 1.14 million in 2008.

“The POEA is misleading the public that overseas deployment is robust and continues to increase amidst the slump in actual deployment by the private sector,’’ said Emmanuel Geslani.

Citing an official report of POEA’s Labor Assistance Center, Geslani said there were only 1,236,013 actual departures of OFWs in 2008, implying only a 2 percent increase in OFW deployment this year.

“Their figure for 11 months shows only a 1.28 million deployment or 11.7 percent increase. But if you compare it for the same period last year at 1.23 million, there was only minimal growth,’’ he told the Manila Bulletin.

Geslani noted that even 30,000 rehires or balikbayan vacationing workers will only add a total of 1,314,133 local arrivals for the year 2009 or an increase of only 5 percent.
He claimed that the large number of re-hires shows that the government is remiss in its duty to make more jobs available to returning Filipino workers.

Geslani lamented that the current job orders at 450,000 approved by the POEA are not being supplied because of the problem of mismatch.

He said POEA Director Stella Banawis had previously admitted there was a drop of 80,000 job orders for 2009.

He also bewailed that the country’s colleges continue to produce unemployable graduates and that the shift to vocational training, which can produce skilled workers, is slow.

Moreover, he said deployment of new hires for the recruitment sector is slow in December because “workers do not want to leave during the season.’’

Geslani also claimed that the POEA altered the figures for the sea-based sector.

“In reality, seafarers are re-hires since their contracts average to six to eight months and return to their ships again in two to three months. So, therefore, a seaman/woman may be counted twice as a new hire as he/she may leave twice in a year. This may be the real reason why the sea-based sector shows an increase in the number deployed,’’ he explained.

He said private sector record pegged the actual deployment for sea-based OFWS at 12 percent and not 22 percent.

"It is an unrealistic figure. The agency should be more circumspect in validating their own figures,'' said Geslani.