New Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Intends to Address Online Illegal Recruitment

Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) incoming secretary Susan Ople has expressed her commitment to crackdown on illegal recruiters on social media platforms. Recently, recruitment agencies authorized by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) have been voicing their concern regarding the matter. According to these agencies, unaccredited recruiters are utilizing social media platforms — including Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok — as a channel to employ Filipinos.

“We will have to work with social media platforms because those are the ones being used now,” explained Ople, when asked how the DMW plans to address illegal recruitment. “It is faster to take down FB pages that become havens for illegal recruitment. We will work closely with Facebook Philippines on that.”

Ople currently serves as the head of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, a nonprofit organization that handles labor and migration concerns. The incoming DMW secretary also stands as an advocate for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Previously, Ople was a board of trustees at the United Nations Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking. She will become the first secretary of the DMW after President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Department of Migrant Workers Act (Republic Act No. 11641).

“Minsan kasi akala ng isang Pilipino nakakatulong sya. Magpo-post sya ng mga trabaho dahil may kakilala syang agent, kunyari sa Dubai, di nya alam nagko-cross na sya ng line, illegal recruitment na ’yun. Pero sa tingin nya, ‘tumutulong lang naman ako.’ Pero hindi eh, may batas tayo na dapat sundan,” Ople elaborated. With this, she highlighted the importance of distinguishing the definition between “online illegal recruitment” and “online human trafficking.”

(“Sometimes, a Filipino would think he is being helpful, posting information because he knows an agent in, say, Dubai, but not knowing he has crossed the line to illegal recruitment. In his view, ’I’m just trying to help,’ but we have a law that must be followed.”)

To monitor and combat this rampant issue, Ople plans to establish a task force that will work closely with the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking. “We will use the laws of other countries to pursue human trafficking cases against foreign employers and foreign recruitment agencies who may be exploiting our OFWs.”

Furthermore, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has also offered to provide OFWs with assistance moving forward. This came after Ople met with DICT Secretary-designate Ivan John Uy. “We discussed at length how digital solutions can ease the problems/inconvenience being faced by our OFWs and how digital solutions can be used for training and capacity building even if they’re on-site,” said Ople.

Source: BusinessMirror