DMW closes training center in Manila for alleged illegal recruitment

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Monday shut down a training center in Malate, Manila for illegal recruitment. 

According to Mark Salazar’s report in “24 Oras”, the training center does not have license to recruit and asks for a large amount of fees from the applicants. 

“‘Yung front nila [ay]  training. For a small fee, mga P4,500, aakitin ‘yung aplikante. Pagkapasa sa training, doon tatagain. P80,000 na processing fee, P250,000 na placement fee…’yun na, recruitment na ‘yun at that stage,” said DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac. 

(Their front is training. For a small fee of about P4,500, they lure the applicants. Once they pass the training, that’s when they charge excessively. A processing fee amounting P80,000, a P250,000 placement fee… that’s it, that is already recruitment at that stage.) 

The DMW said the training center is using the license of a recruitment agency to deploy workers abroad. 

“Ito yung may 1,000 complainants na iniimbestigahan natin, licensed ito, so nasuspende natin. In the process of interviewing the victims, nabisto ito. Paano makaakit ng aplikante is through this entity,” said Cacdac. 

(This is the one with 1,000 complainants that we are investigating, it is licensed, so we suspended it. In the process of interviewing the victims, this was exposed. How they attract applicants is through this entity.) 

Cacdac personally sealed shut the door of the training center. During the operation, two trainees from Isabela arrived supposedly to secure a certificate of completion in their training. 

The two trainees said they had to pay P4,500 to P5,500 for skills training. 

The DMW shut down 32 recruitment agencies last year stemming from over 1,000 complaints and nearly 30 victims of human trafficking. 

Further, the department took down over 65,000 Facebook accounts and over 27,000 TikTok accounts illegally recruiting job seekers online. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News