By Ben Serrano, PNA and U.S. News Agency / Asian

–Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz appealed for public understanding after issuing an apology for the unpaid rentals of the satellite office of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) in Caraga.

“I am sorry for what happened for your only POEA office here in Caraga, I was not informed about it and it was only through news that we were informed about its plight, I understand how important POEA office is, for the growing number of OFWs and would be OFWs in Caraga region”, Baldoz said during press conference here on Thursday evening.

Baldoz and Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Lualhati Antonino have visited the province, the number 8 and ninth cabinet secretaries who visited the province since January this year.

Nine cabinet members of the Aquino administration have visited Surigao del Norte to grace various occasions.

No other province in Caraga region had the most number of visits done by national government officials holding cabinet ranks.

This earned Surigao del Norte province the monicker ” Most Favorite Destination of Aquino Cabinet Secretaries” to date.

Among cabinet secretaries who already visited Surigao del Norte since January this year, include Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Education Secretary Armin Luistro, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Rebredo, Tourism Secretary Albert Lim and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Cayetano Paderangga.

Baldoz said the POEA administrator has prepared a check for the six months unpaid rentals of satellite office.

Baldoz, who once served as POEA administrator before accepting the DOLE post, admitted importance of POEA satellite office in this part of the country.

NEDA Caraga regional director Carmencita Cochingco confirmed Caraga RDC already passed resolution to solve the problem hounding the POEA office in Butuan City.

National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Caraga regional director Carmencita Cochingco brought the issue to the officials of the RDC Executive Committee, saying even office supplies and other needs of said office were purchased from personal money of the personnel of said office.

The NEDA official told Regional Development Council (RDC) executive committee, chaired by Surigao del Norte Governor Sol Matugas, that the problem was also discussed during RDC-Legislative joint meeting where majority of Caraga congressmen were present.

Cochingco said the owner of the building office already started demanding payments of the POEA office rentals unpaid since February this year.

Bellotindos said she also made many efforts with POEA central office in Manila and the Davao POEA office where the Caraga satellite office belonged, on the problem since March and April.

“But no reply from them until this was brought to Media, had it not been to media no action had been made maybe until now” Bellotindos said in a separate interview.

The POEA Caraga satellite office was established in late 2009 after clamor of many OFWs from Caraga region that they had to travel to far cities like Davao and Cagayan de Oro where POEA offices are located just to make follow up of their applications or apply and official transactions with POEA.

Bellotindos claimed that she has only two POEA office personnel helping here, all job orders and another volunteer which she pay allowances from her own pocket.

Bellotindos said the POEA office serves at least 20 to 50 job seekers for overseas employment daily and about 15,000 OFWs in the region who needs Overseas Employment Certificate.

She also said that aside from serving job applicants, the Butuan POEA office serves as monitoring office to some 13 accredited foreign employment recruiting agencies in the region while monitoring illegal recruiters who come incognito to the region.

Bellotindos said to date her office, despite of no intelligence funds of even single centavo, already apprehended 20 illegal recruiters, in cooperation with law enforcement agencies.

Other mandate of the POEA is to assist, monitor, supervise direct hiring process, placement of foreign government recruitment, registers seafarers and other fields, administers Balik Mangagawa Program, Bellotindos admits using own money to travel around Caraga region to implement POEA programs.