The Bureau of Immigration logo is superimposed over the airport scene. INQUIRER.net FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Sunday warned overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) against “third country recruitment,” a scheme where they are offered to work in another country where they were not legitimately hired.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco lamented that the scheme remains prevalent. Under the scheme, OFWs whose visas expired are recruited to be transported to another country.
This means that the OFW will not return to the Philippines upon expiry of his contract, and will instead proceed to a third country.
This leaves the Philippine government with no record of their transfer to a different country, Tansingco said, citing the dangers that the scheme poses to OFWs.
“While third-party recruitment is beyond the scope of the BI, we deem it necessary to share to the public stories we encounter at the airport, as we are the first to hear about this back in the Philippines,” he said.
“OFWs should protect themselves from exploitation by ensuring proper documentation when they work abroad,” he added.
The BI issued the warning after five Filipinos, aged 30-40 years old, were deported from Moscow, Russia, on Friday. Three of the victims were OFWs in Hong Kong who were recruited to work in Russia when their contracts expired.