DMW: Illegal recruiters put migrant workers at risk to forced criminality; be wary of online job offers

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) warned Filipinos planning to work abroad of the risk of being forced into criminal activities by illegal recruiters.

“May mga bansa tulad ng Cambodia [na] hindi na tinatanaw bilang biktima ang OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker). Meron nang tinatawag na forced criminality, doon sa mga biktima ng illegal recruitment,” DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said Monday on “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.”

(There are countries like Cambodia that no longer view the OFW as a victim. Forced criminality now applies to victims of illegal recruitment.)

Cacdac explained that there were several cases in which illegally recruited workers were involved in unlawful operations, such as cyber scam hubs.

“Ang tingin ng host countries dito, kriminalidad ito at kaya’t huwag na po magpatuloy. Ang isang risk, bukod sa lolokohin ka ng employer, baka tratuhin ka pang criminal sa pupuntahan mong bansa,” Cacdac said.

(Host countries view this as criminal activity, which is why people should not push through with it. The risk—aside from being scammed by the employer—is that you might be treated as a criminal in your destination country.)

Aside from exposure to illegal operations, the DMW said that it cannot review the contents of a contract when recruitment is illegal, posing risks of labor exploitation.

“Pagka hindi dumaan sa DMW, hindi natin alam yung laman ng kontrata. Halimbawa, minimum wage natin 400 USD per month, e minsan… tatagain ka ng placement fee tapos ang suweldo, 200, 300 dollars [o] 600, 800 riyals o dirham, e nako mas mataas pa ho ang Philippine minimum wage sa mga halaga na yan.” Cacdac said.

(If it does not pass through the DMW, we have no way of knowing the contents of the contract. For example, our mandated minimum wage is 400 USD per month. But illegal recruiters will gouge you with a placement fee, and then your salary ends up being just 200 or 300 dollars, or 600 to 800 riyals or dirhams. The Philippine minimum wage is higher than those amounts.)

Indicators

According to Cacdac, the number of illegal recruiters in the country continues to increase, especially online.

“Patuloy ang ating warning sa ating mga kababayan na 'wag pumatol sa illegal recruitment… Ako po, I will be the first to say, na hindi po zero ang bilang ng illegal recruiters sila po ay namamayagpag pa rin lalo na’t meron nang mga social media,” Cacdac said.

(We continue to warn our fellow citizens not to fall for illegal recruitment… I will be the first to admit that the number of illegal recruiters is not at zero. They are still thriving, especially now with social media.)

He emphasized that Filipinos should not easily trust recruiters online, and should thoroughly verify whether the recruiters have physical offices and are licensed by the DMW.

“And the other indicator of illegal recruitment is pinapaalis na yung tao wala pang… work visa, work contract na dumaan sa pagsusuri ng DMW. ‘Pag wala po non, pag tourist visa lang ang pinapakita o kaya no visa kung ASEAN 'yan… ay magduda po kayo nang 101% kasi malamang sa malamang 'yan ay illegal recruitment,” Cacdac added.

(Another indicator of illegal recruitment is when a person is being sent abroad without a work visa or a work contract that has undergone DMW verification. If those are missing—if they only show you a tourist visa, or no visa at all because it's an ASEAN country—you should doubt them 101% because it is highly likely a case of illegal recruitment.)

The DMW secretary also warned of illegal recruiters who usually rush their targets, claiming they need to leave immediately due to quickly selling flight tickets.

Cacdac assured victims of illegal recruiters that they will not be blacklisted and will instead be given new opportunities to work.

“There’s no such thing as blacklisting. However, we make sure that they learn from their mistakes. Meaning, next time, dumaan na sila sa DMW, at tama ka, pagdating ng DMW we’ll process them and of course we will be mindful na akma yung trabaho nila doon sa skillset nila,” he said.

(There is no such thing as blacklisting. However, we make sure they learn from the experience. This means that next time, they should go through the DMW. And you are right—once they come to the DMW, we will process them, and we will certainly make sure that the job matches their skillset.)

“In other words, we will make sure na nasa maiging sitwasyon, nasa tamang stipulasyon ‘yung kontrata, sang-ayon sa batas ng host country at sang-ayon sa batas natin,” he added.

(In other words, we will ensure that they are in a good situation, and that the contract contains the correct stipulations in accordance with both the laws of the host country and our own laws.)

Cacdac said the government is continually strengthening labor relations with host countries to enforce strict compliance with labor standards and open up more overseas employment opportunities. —RF, GMA News