DMW padlocks unlicensed recruitment, training firm in QC
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Migrant Workers on Friday shut down an unlicensed and unrecognized recruitment and training firm in Quezon City.
In a statement, the DMW identified the institution as Match Trend Training Assessment Center located at 145 Biak na Bato Street in Quezon City.
“Match Trend is neither licensed by the DMW to recruit and place Filipino workers overseas nor an accredited assessment center with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) even with a registered program on Caretaker Level II,” said DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac.
“Match Trend, under the guise as a technical vocational institution, preys on the hopes of aspiring Filipino workers to work in Taiwan by charging exorbitant training and processing fees and illegally referring them to foreign employers. This is a clear case of illegal recruitment,” he added.
Cacdac said surveillance operations have revealed that the institution specifically victimizes female caretakers in exchange for a P30,000 training fee with an initial payment of P6,000 for enrollment.
He added that applicants who cannot afford to pay the enrollment are referred to a lending institution.
“When the applicants finish their training, Match Trend will then refer them to foreign employers who collect processing fees amounting from P40,000 to P45,000, depending on the agency chosen by the foreign employer,” Cacdac added.
Filipinos who are seeking jobs abroad were advised to visit the DMW’s website for an official list of legitimate agencies with job orders.
Victims of Match Trend, on the other hand, were told to contact DMW’s Migrant Workers Protection Bureau for legal assistance in filing cases against the erring institution.
