Suspected illegal recruiter posing as DMW employee arrested in QC

(Photo from DMW Anti-Illegal Recruitment and Trafficking in Persons Program Facebook)

MANILA, Philippines — A suspected illegal recruiter who pretended to be an employee of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) was arrested in a joint operation of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Anti-Transnational Crime Unit and the DMW.

According to the DMW, Susan Velasquez was arrested in Cubao, Quezon City, on Thursday.

One of Velasquez’s victims said she first introduced herself as a DMW employee in March 2024 and was offered a job in Canada as a fruit picker with a CAD 3,800 monthly salary, or around P161,910.

Velasquez asked the victim for a placement fee of P200,000 to P230,000 while promising they could go to Canada within two months after payment.

The victim, who waited some time but could not go to Canada, later went to the DMW and discovered that Velasquez was not a DMW employee and had no license to recruit workers.

CIDG launched an entrapment, and Velasquez fell into the trap.

The DMW said that Velasquez is detained at the CIDG’s facility in Camp Crame and will face charges of large-scale illegal recruitment, estafa at the usurpation of authority.

DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac urged other victims of Velasquez to consult with his office for the filing of cases against the suspect.