00:00In the midst of protecting overseas Filipino workers,
00:05an illegal recruitment agency was established by the Department of Migrant Workers in Pampanga.
00:12The agency is working in Bulgaria in exchange for a high salary.
00:17JM Pineda was at the center of the news.
00:21This travel agency in San Fernando, Pampanga seems to be very small.
00:26Aside from having its own place, it also has a business permit.
00:29But the company's operation is illegal.
00:33The firm is recruiting overseas Filipino workers to work abroad.
00:38This is even though there is no permit to recruit the travel agency.
00:41According to the closure order, the agency immediately closed the so-called travel agency.
00:47Our team validated the permit we saw.
00:50But according to the LGU, no valid mayor's permit has been issued yet.
00:56According to our team, this is their third transfer here.
00:59It does not have a recruitment permit or license.
01:03That is its number one violation.
01:05It is not an authorized and licensed entity to deploy,
01:11invite, and hire workers to go abroad.
01:17The illegal operation of the travel agency was seen due to the complaint of some victims.
01:22They were forced to work in Bulgaria
01:24in exchange for a salary of Php 60,000.
01:27But the travel agency has to pay Php 400,000 to Php 500,000 to recruit workers
01:33to work abroad as factory workers.
01:37This is one of the travel agency's limitations.
01:40Those who want to hire illegal workers,
01:43sometimes they are legitimate.
01:45Sometimes they have accreditation passes from various agencies.
01:49There is a valid mayor's permit and barangay clearance,
01:54but they do not have a DMW license to recruit.
01:57The most important thing here is the license given by the DMW.
02:03No one was arrested for violating the DMW and only the documents were obtained.
02:08Again, the agency gave notice to Filipinos who want to work abroad.
02:14The Department of Migrant Workers reminds us to be careful in negotiating
02:20and accepting offers from the travel agency.
02:26When we validated, there was no permit and no license to hire and recruit to go abroad.
02:34The DMW was forced to issue a different travel agency's license for overseas job recruitment.
02:40It is also necessary to consider if it is asking for a large amount of money or placement fee.
02:45As of 2025, some travel agencies have been closed by the agency
02:50that illegally sends Filipinos abroad.
02:53JM Pineda for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.
