Firm closed over illegal recruitment; applicants pay up to P350K

LEGAZPI CITY — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) 5 (Bicol) closed a consultancy firm on Thursday following surveillance and an entrapment operation that revealed unauthorized recruitment activities.

DMW-5 Director Jeena Paclibar-Laceda said the operation stemmed from the office’s monitoring of an advertisement posted on Facebook and aired over a radio station.

The ads were inviting nurses, caregivers, speech pathologists, physiologists, and other aspiring overseas workers to attend an orientation on overseas employment opportunities.

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“Through a surveillance order, we conducted an initial surveillance on June 12, and based on our findings, there were illegal recruitment activities,” Laceda said in an interview.

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“We then conducted a confirmatory surveillance with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), which again confirmed the illegal recruitment,” she noted.

Authorities conducted an entrapment operation on June 19 that led to the filing of charges against one of the establishment’s personnel.

DMW Assistant Secretary for Adjudication Services and Regional Operations Jerome Alcantara said the closure order was served against Cander Visa Consultancy Services.

The action was done after law enforcers found evidence of illegal recruitments.

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Alcantara said only entities licensed by the DMW are authorized to hold these activities.

“Under our law, no one can recruit workers unless licensed by the Department of Migrant Workers. Cander is not licensed,” he pointed out.

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“Any recruitment activity, such as canvassing, enlisting, transporting, or offering overseas jobs for a fee without a license, is prohibited,” he said in Filipino.

Alcantara said investigators confirmed that applicants were initially being charged P10,000, with additional fees reaching as much as P350,000 during the recruitment process, despite the fact that the firm has no authority from the DMW.

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While the criminal case will be resolved by the courts, the DMW has the power to order the closure of establishments found to be engaged in illegal recruitment. /apl