By Marita Moaje
MANILA – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is intensifying efforts against the alarming rise of online job scams targeting Filipinos seeking employment abroad, in response to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to safeguard the welfare of workers.
In a news release on Thursday, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac cited the department’s continuous coordination with various social media platforms, including Facebook and TikTok, to combat the proliferation of fake job postings.
“Nakapagtala tayo ng 73,714 take downs sa Facebook at TikTok. Araw-araw ay patuloy ang ating monitoring at may aktibong kooperasyon tayo sa Meta para labanan ang mga sindikatong gumagaya sa mga lehitimong (We have recorded 73,714 take downs on Facebook and TikTok. We continue to monitor daily and are actively cooperating with Meta to combat syndicates that impersonate legitimate accounts of) recruitment agencies,” Cacdac said.
He explained that the fraudulent scheme involves posts disguised as legitimate overseas job offers, which have led to cases of human trafficking, where victims are forced to work in “scam hubs” in Southeast Asia.
DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia, meanwhile, acknowledged the need to scale up the ongoing online surveillance efforts of the department to match the growing volume and sophistication of digital recruitment fraud, as noted by Senator Raffy Tulfo.
“Dagdagan po natin ng 20 hanggang 30 ang surveillance teams para mapabilis ang pagtukoy sa mga scam (Let’s increase the surveillance teams by 20 to 30 to speed up the identification of scams),” Tulfo said.
Cacdac said that beyond preventive measures, the DMW is also ramping up its support mechanisms for the victims of trafficking.
He said that through its Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Bangkok and the AKSYON Fund, the DMW also provides post-arrival assistance, financial aid, and repatriation services to affected overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Meanwhile, Cacdac noted the critical role of victims’ testimonies in identifying illegal recruiters, with cases being endorsed to the Department of Justice and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for prosecution.
He also announced the plan to establish Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs) in those so-called high-risk regions.
“Yung mga places na may recruitment hubs like Lao PDR, Cambodia, at Myanmar wala pa tayong MWO but we promise this year magtatayo ng MWOs in these places (Places with recruitment hubs like Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Myanmar do not have MWOs yet but we promise to set up MWOs in these places within the year),” Cacdac said.
He explained that the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s (OWWA) 1348 hotline is open 24/7 and that all complaints are endorsed to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for immediate action.
Cacdac also vowed to intensify cooperation with the IACAT and other agencies to further protect OFWs.
“Lahat po ng nabiktima ay tinulungan natin. Binigyan natin ng AKSYON fund assistance. Yun pong pondo na itinalaga ninyo na aprobado rin ng ating Pangulo. And then yung ating pagkakaroon ng pagkuha ng statements nila sa kaso natutukoy nila kung sino ang illegal recruiter nila dito, at finoforward naman natin sa DOJ, sa IACAT (We have helped all the victims. We have provided AKSYON fund assistance, as approved by our President. And then when we have taken their statements in the case, they can determine who their illegal recruiter is here, and we forward it to the DOJ, to the IACAT),” he said. (PNA)
