LABOR Secretary Arturo Brion on Friday said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Board is considering exempting some countries in the implementation of direct hiring rules for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

"We are looking at the exception under direct hiring because we got reports from many of our labor attachés that the protection (for OFWs that) we are looking for through the recruitment agencies may already be there in some countries," said Brion, chair of the POEA board.

He named Italy and Hong Kong among the countries that might be exempted, saying the board was "satisfied" with the presentation of the labor attachés assigned there.

The new direct hiring rules, originally scheduled to take effect last Jan. 15, have caused an uproar among several overseas workers’ organizations.

The rules allow only members of the diplomatic corps, international organizations and government officials at the ministerial level to directly hire and bring workers abroad to work. The party directly hiring the worker is also required to post a $5,000 repatriation bond and a $3,000 performance bond. The bonds, respectively, would guarantee the repatriation of the worker or his remains in case of death, and the payment of his salary for the duration of his employment contract.

DOLE justified the new rules as a way of strengthening protection mechanisms for OFWs but OFW organizations said they are anti-labor and might turn off prospective employers.

Brion, however, said the new rules have been misunderstood by critics. "Ang sinasabi natin dito, walang cash na ilalabas kundi bonds. I heard it’s only $70-80 to get a principal amount in $5,000 or $3,000, which is not really much. That should be clarified," he said. – Gerard M. Naval