The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Tuesday padlocked a Dubai-based recruitment office in Manila found to be illegally charging P100,000 for placement fees.
DMW officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac led the closure of Legal Connect Travel Consultancy which was also charged with offering fake jobs in Italy and Malta
to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Cacdac said the firm has no authorized permits to operate as a recrjuiter of Connect Travel job seekers, adding it was engaged illegal recruitment and illegal collection of fees.
The closure was made after the DMW- Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB), acted on three complaints from applicants whose applications were either stalled or ignored by the recruiting agency even after collecting exorbitant placement fees from them.
“Two of the complaints were from Dubai-based OFWs while the third complaint was lodged by an applicant in Manila,” he said.
Cacdac said the firm was operating without a valid DMW license, luring unsuspecting applicants with promises of agricultural jobs as fruit and vegetable pickers, dairy farm workers as well as caregivers in Italy and hotel crew service jobs in Malta.
The firm also allegedly offered monthly salaries of P60,000 to P100,000 but imposed “processing” fees ranging from P250,000 to P380,000.
“They would collect an initial “placement” fee from P80,000 to P100,000 with the balance to be paid in installments. Processing times were deceptively long, with applicants waiting for 6 to 8 months for jobs that never materialized,” he added.
Officers and personnel of Legal Connect face serious charges of illegal recruitment which is punishable by life imprisonment and fines ranging from P2,000,000 to P5,000,000.