15 women rescued from suspected illegal recruitment apartment in Manila

MANILA – Fifteen women bound for Kuwait to work as domestic helpers were rescued by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Manila Police District (MPD) during a joint operation at an apartment in San Andres Bukid, Manila, on Thursday, November 5. 

Authorities raided the apartment following complaints of suspected illegal recruitment and reports that applicants were being housed in overcrowded and unauthorized accommodation.

A man who was allegedly acting as the apartment’s caretaker was arrested during the operation. 

The 15 women, who came from different parts of the Visayas and Mindanao, were reportedly staying together in the apartment while their employment documents were being processed for deployment to Kuwait.

DMW-NCR Director Falconi Millar said the operation was conducted following complaints from OFWs who were allegedly being housed in an illegal accommodation facility.

“Nagsagawa tayo ng welfare check, rescue, and closure operations kanina, bunsod ng, ah, ah, reklamo ng mga OFW na sila ay, ah, ah, pinapatulog inio-in-house sa isang illegal na accommodation,” Millar said. 

Based on surveillance conducted by authorities, the apartment was housing 15 applicants.

“Ah, sa lapag sila natutulog. Ah, yung passport nila naka naka-withhold, wala wala sa kanila,” Millar added. 

MPD Police District Intelligence and Operations Unit chief PMAJ Jake Arcilla said most of the women came from South Mindanao, including Davao and Zamboanga, in hopes of finding work abroad.

“Mostly sa kanila, they come from the South Mindanao, Davao, Zamboanga para magtrabaho papunta sa, ah, ibang bansa. The problem is that itong, ah, accommodation na ’to ay walang lisensya at nagpapasok lang siya ng worker dito sa isang legitimate din na recruitment agency na,” Arcilla said. 

Authorities warned that applicants who go through unauthorized recruiters risk being unmonitored by government agencies once they leave the country.

Without proper processing through a licensed recruitment agency, the workers could end up being classified as unaccounted OFWs. 

Millar said the suspect was not registered with the DMW and had no authority to recruit workers or process their overseas employment applications.

“Nung i-verify natin ’to si (name withheld) ay hindi siya rehistrado sa DMW. Wala siyang karapatan na mag-recruit, magproseso ng mga na ng application ng mga OFW applicants natin. ’Yan ay illegal recruitment. Wala siyang karapatan na i-withhold yung passport ng ano mga OFW,” Millar said. 

Arcilla stressed that recruitment operations must comply with government regulations to ensure the protection of Filipino workers.

“Para kang aalis o paalis ka on your own risk, which is very wrong. Yun nga yung the evil that we sought to prevent. Hindi yung kasi gusto kong mag-recruit eh, o nandoon nga ako. But then again, the law says so na kailangan mong munang mag-secure ng license because of that for the protection of you and the protection of the worker as well,” he said. 

The DMW is also investigating a legitimate manpower agency that allegedly received P500,000 from the recruitment group in exchange for the use of its license to supply domestic workers bound for Kuwait.

The arrested suspect admitted that their recruitment operation was not currently licensed, saying they had previously sought guidance on how to secure accreditation. 

He claimed their intention was to help applicants find jobs abroad and said he would ensure compliance with licensing requirements if given another opportunity to engage in recruitment.

Arcilla, however, emphasized that good intentions do not exempt recruiters from complying with the law.

“No matter how ’yung gusto mong makatulong sa kapwa mo, na gusto mo silang mapaganda ’yung buhay nila kaya ka nagre-recruit, meron tayong itinakdang mga rules and regulation na dapat mo muna sundin bago ka pumasok into recruitment,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the rescued women said they would rather wait for the recruitment agency to resolve its licensing issues than start the application process all over again with another agency.

Some said they had no jobs to return to in their respective provinces and would temporarily remain in Manila while awaiting further instructions. 

One of the rescued applicants admitted that she failed to check whether the recruiter was properly licensed.

The women are now under the temporary care of the DMW.

The arrested suspect is expected to face charges for alleged violations of Republic Act No. 8042, or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act.