BAGUIO CITY — The Department of Migrant Workers has launched an expanded campaign against illegal recruitment and human trafficking in the mountainous Cordillera region, signing agreements with local governments and taking its warnings directly into schools following a major scam that victimized more than 150 residents.
Cheryl Daytec, officer-in-charge regional director for the Cordillera Administrative Region, said Wednesday that the agency has formalized a memorandum of agreement with Benguet province and plans similar pacts with Kalinga, Abra, Ifugao, Mountain Province and Apayao provinces.
“These local government units will help us inform their constituents about the department’s programs and protect them from illegal recruiters,” Daytec told reporters.
The initiative also includes partnerships with the Department of Labor and Employment, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Commission on Higher Education to reach students who may be targeted with fake overseas internship and job offers.
Daytec described illegal recruitment and human trafficking as among the most common complaints received by the regional office, which handles 10 to 12 cases daily. Other frequent issues include workplace abuse, contract substitution, unpaid overtime and trauma — referred to locally as “warshock” — among workers affected by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
More than 36,000 documented overseas Filipino workers hail from the Cordillera, making it one of the Philippines’ top sources of overseas labor.
In a case highlighted by Daytec, more than 150 Cordillera residents were among nearly 500 people nationwide who paid placement fees ranging from 150,000 to 200,000 pesos ($2,600 to $3,500) for promised jobs in Japan, Switzerland and Canada. The victims discovered they had been scammed only on Nov. 15 when they arrived at the airport for departure.
The department is working with the National Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to prosecute the suspected recruiter, Sheena Mae Canlas.
Daytec urged the public to watch for red flags of illegal recruitment: offers made in private homes or restaurants rather than licensed offices or official job fairs; demands for exorbitant fees; and promises that appear too good to be true.
She stressed that legitimate agencies are required to have valid licenses verifiable on the DMW website and may charge only documented costs such as passport and medical exams, capped at one month’s salary, with official receipts provided.
“If a job offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Daytec said.
Authorities say intensified community- and school-based information campaigns are critical to preventing further victimization in a region heavily reliant on overseas employment.
