By Gab Humilde Villegas | PTV News
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) shut down a tourism consultancy agency in Ortigas, Pasig City on Friday after uncovering illegal recruitment schemes targeting Filipinos hoping to work abroad.
Migrant Workers Assistant Secretary Jerome Alcantara said the agency had already sent at least 80 workers to Bulgaria. Of those, 70 managed to leave the country, but 10 were offloaded by the Bureau of Immigration after officials grew suspicious of their travel documents.
Asec. Alcantara said the agency drew in applicants by dangling internship programs and cultural exchange opportunities in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Bulgaria.
The jobs on offer ranged from chambermaids and cooks to caregivers, domestic workers, and amusement park attendants. But the fees were steep—up to P350,000—especially given that the promised monthly salaries of P150,000 to P200,000 seemed too good to be true.
“Magpapaalis sila either under a program na cultural exchange ‘yun o ‘di kaya nagpapaalis sila under the guise of an internship and training pero ang totoong kababagsakan nun, trabaho sa ibang bansa,” Alcantara explained.
The DMW’s investigation also found that the agency had been quietly expanding into the provinces to recruit even more applicants. The department is now asking the public to report any suspicious recruitment activity.
Following the shutdown, Migrant Workers Protection Bureau Director Romelson Abbang reminded the public that only licensed agencies are allowed to process overseas job placements for Filipinos.
Jobseekers are urged to do their homework—verifying an agency’s legitimacy through official DMW channels before handing over any money or paperwork to avoid scams.
“Kung kayo ay nag-aapply ay ugaliin ninyong mag-verify muna sa Department of Migrant Workers kung ang inyong inaapplyan ay lisensyado sa DMW,” Abbang advised.
Meanwhile, Asec. Alcantara laid out some ground rules to help protect applicants from being exploited.
“Huwag magbabayad ng processing fee hangga’t hindi nakakapirma ng kontrata. Unang una, huwag magbabayad ng processing fee o placement fee sa hindi lisensyado ng DMW. Pangalawa pag nagbayad, dapat may resibo at saka nagta-transact lamang sa loob ng opisina at pangatlo, huwag magbabayad ng higit doon sa allowed ng law. Kung Domestic Worker yan, hindi pwedeng singilin ng placement fee yan,” Alcantara stressed.
-bjlc
