Lawyer Karl Arriola, DMW-7 director. CDND Photo/Niña Mae Oliverio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The regional director of the Department of Migrant Workers in Central Visayas (DMW-7) warned aspiring Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to engage with only legitimate and licensed recruitment agencies.
Lawyer Karl Arriola, DMW-7 director, told CDN Digital that even if he was a lawyer, he still subscribed to the doctors’ advice: Prevention is better than cure.
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“Sama ra sad na sa mga legal matters ug especially sa mga pagpangapply nato og trabaho,” he said.
(It is also the same to legal matters and especially to us applying for a job.)
He added that the process that the aspiring OFWs is tedious given that some of them might be unfamiliar of the documents they were working on.
With this, he urged all the aspiring OFWs to “follow the proper process.”
Arriola said that if they were “unsure” with the process, they could directly approach the Department of Migrant Workers.
“Because kami man ang agency nga nagregulate sa overseas employment program so if you want to work abroad and become an OFW, moagi gyud mo sa among opisina to acquire the overseas employment certificate or OEC,” said Arriola.
(Because we are the agency that regulates the overseas employment program so if you want to work abroad and became an OFW, you will pass through our office to acquire the overseas employment certificate or OEC.)
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Subsequently, he also has a reminder to the recruitment agencies.
“If ikaw usa ka agency, ganahan ka modeploy og mga OFWs, you really need to acquire the necessary license from the Department of Migrant Workers,” he said.
(If you are an agency, and you want to deploy OFWs, you really need to acquire the necessary license from the Department of Migrant Workers.)
Arriola said that the aspiring OFWs have to check first if their prospect agency had a license to operate from the Philippine Overseas Employment Office that would be included in DMW’s list.
“Please do not engage because most likely you might become a victim of illegal recruitment or worse, labor human trafficking,” Arriola said.
They may check the licensed recruitment agencies through DMW’s official website: https://dmw.gov.ph/licensed-recruitment-agencies
Moreover, Arriola also urged the aspirants to be circumspect especially on social media.
“Daghan na kaayo’g mga content online on giving advice on how to work abroad. Even mga OFWs, they give proper advice, sometimes they don’t,” he said.
(There are many content online on giving advice on how to work abroad. Even some OFWs, they give proper advice, but sometimes they don’t.)
That was why DMW established their website and social media pages, coordinated with some organizations of OFWs, and most especially the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)—so the aspirants could acquire legitimate OFW-related information.
These advices and reminders from Arriola came following the mass filing of the victims of illegal recruitment against a local recruitment agency.
At least seven complainants from Cebu sought assistance from the DMW-7 on March 21 and 22 for their cases against the same recruitment agency.