Senator Joel Villanueva has asked the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to hunt down illegal recruiters and human traffickers who lured Filipinos into working at scam hubs in Myanmar.
Villanueva likewise urged local recruitment agencies to exercise prudence and due diligence in ensuring their foreign counterparts make good on their job offers and not circumvent processes to mislead Filipino workers into illegal trade.
“We are grateful for the joint efforts of the DMW, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Foreign Affairs, Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in the Philippines, and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission in rescuing our kababayans who were tricked and trafficked into working at scam hubs in Myanmar. These nefarious scam operators prey on hapless workers trying to make a living for their families back home,” Villanueva principal author and sponsor of the DMW Act.
“Our appeal to our local recruiters is to scrutinize their counterparts where they intend to deploy our OFWs. Local recruiters should exert effort in undertaking due diligence so that their deployed workers are sent where they are supposed to go,” he continued.
Villanueva pointed out that more than the rising cost of repatriation of OFWs who fall victim into illegal recruitment and human trafficking schemes, such experience takes a severe toll on the individual’s physical and mental condition.
“Nalulugmok po ng husto ang ating mga kababayang OFW na nabibiktima nitong mga illegal recruiters dahil maliban sa pisikal at mental na epekto sa biktima, apektado rin ang kalagayan ng kani-kanilang mga pamilya,” he added. “Kaya po nananawagan tayo sa ating mga awtoridad at mga recruitment agencies na patuloy na magkaisa laban sa mga sindikato ng illegal recruitment at human trafficking.”
Villanueva called on the DMW to intensify their information and education campaigns to help recruitment agencies and prospective OFWs to easily identify dubious recruitment schemes backed by syndicates involved in human trafficking and illegal activities.
He said recruiters should not hesitate to bring to the authorities’ attention any suspicious agencies or individuals who offer dubious placements or deployment schemes.
The government repatriated some 346 OFWs who were lured into working at scam hubs in Yangon on November 12, 2025. Various agencies led by DMW and OWWA have been instructed by President Marcos to extend all possible assistance to the victims.
