Online illegal recruitment modus rises in DMW’s 4th full yearMAKATI CITY, Philippines — The Illegal recruitment of prospective and current overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) rose using Facebook and TikTok pages, dwarfing the Department of Migrant Workers’ efforts to curb all sorts of IR activities. Illegal recruitment activities, especially when affecting at least three workers, are outlawed by the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 (or Republic Act 8042, amended into RA 10022). DMW, created through Republic Act 11649, runs current-day anti-illegal recruitment activities that were the task of the now-defunct Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) from 1982 to 2021. Illegal recruitment activities, Bracero added, affect “not just the vulnerable sector (such as less-skilled workers) but also skilled workers and professionals.”Director Atty. Geraldine Marquez of DMW’s Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB) said that the Philippines’ anti-illegal recruitment and trafficking efforts are well in-place and respond to the realities of cyber-induced recruitment.

Source: Philippine Star December 20, 2025 07:57 UTC