Manila: The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Monday shut down an office in Santa Cruz, Manila, allegedly involved in illegal recruitment activities that promised overseas jobs in Taiwan, Canada, and New Zealand in exchange for excessive placement fees.

According to Philippines News Agency, DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia stated that the closure order was based on complaints from at least three applicants who claimed Polaris Manpower and Documentation Services recruited them without a valid DMW license. The company allegedly pretended to have connections with the DMW and operated under the guise of a government track to lure applicants.

Olalia noted that this operation marks the 11th closure executed this year by the DMW, in coordination with the Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB) and law enforcement authorities. Prior to the shutdown, the DMW MWPB conducted weeks of surveillance following reports from complainants who were asked to pay large sums for supposed overseas jobs arranged through a 'government-to-government' scheme.

The recruiters allegedly misled their victims by claiming connections with the DMW, convincing them of the legitimacy of the job offers. Olalia clarified that legitimate government-to-government deployments do not involve placement fees, and no private recruitment agency should participate in such programs.

Victims reportedly discovered the fraudulent job offers online and were instructed to pay as much as PHP260,000 in placement fees for hotel jobs abroad, with promised salaries of up to PHP170,000 a month. DMW Assistant Secretary for Sea-based OFW Concerns Jerome Pampolina urged aspiring overseas workers to verify recruitment agencies through official DMW channels before engaging in any transactions.

He emphasized that Polaris Manpower and Documentation Services is unlicensed and has no connection to the Department of Migrant Workers. Pampolina also warned applicants against agencies that collect large placement fees without contracts, highlighting this as a 'big red flag.'

The closure order includes Polaris Manpower and Documentation Services, Yolanda Naag, and other responsible officers on the government's List of Persons with Derogatory Records, preventing them from engaging in overseas recruitment activities. The DMW plans to pursue criminal charges for illegal recruitment against those responsible for the operation.