MANILA — Philippine authorities have arrested two women and shuttered a Manila consultancy firm accused of defrauding job seekers with bogus employment offers in Poland, officials said Wednesday, as the government intensifies its crackdown on illegal overseas recruitment.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), working alongside the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, raided Venancia Consultancy PTY Ltd. and its affiliated entity, Venancia International Manpower, Inc., in the Sta. Ana district of Manila on Tuesday.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac personally led the entrapment operation, which resulted in the arrest of Jomalyn Baya Fisher and Glydel Sayon. Authorities also identified Rina Songahid Bench and Arlyn Rodriguez as alleged accomplices.
According to the DMW, the suspects falsely represented that the firm was licensed to place workers in Poland as welders and factory workers, charging applicants 300,000 Philippine pesos — roughly $5,200 — in processing fees, while promising monthly salaries of 1,200 euros.
Investigators found, however, that while Bench and Fisher held positions as recruitment officers at a separate, legitimately licensed agency, they had no affiliation with Venancia. The licensed agency they claimed to represent also had no approved job order for Poland, officials said, rendering the offers fraudulent.
“We will not allow unscrupulous individuals to prey on the dreams of Filipino workers seeking better lives abroad,” Cacdac said, according to a DMW statement.
The operation was carried out under Closure Order 24, series of 2026, and is consistent with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to bolster protections for overseas Filipino workers and job seekers against labor exploitation.
The four suspects now face illegal recruitment charges and will be added to the DMW’s List of Persons and Entities with Derogatory Record. Authorities said they will also recommend the revocation of Venancia’s Manila business permit and its registration with the Department of Trade and Industry.
The DMW’s Migrant Workers Protection Bureau urged any additional victims to come forward and seek free legal assistance through the bureau’s official Facebook page.
Officials reminded aspiring overseas workers to verify a recruitment agency’s licensing status and confirm the existence of an approved job order before paying any fees or signing employment agreements.
The Philippines is one of the world’s largest exporters of labor, with millions of Filipinos working abroad. Illegal recruitment remains a persistent problem, with fraudsters frequently exploiting job seekers eager to secure overseas employment.
