BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) closed down a Japanese language training center in Baguio City on Friday for offering jobs to Japan without the necessary license from the government to engage in the recruitment and placement of Filipinos for overseas work.
DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia and Assistant Secretary Francis Ron de Guzman, together with the DMW’s Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB), in coordination with the Baguio City Police, padlocked the office of the Institute of Building Foreign Language Inc. (IBFL) located at No. 11 M. Ponce Street, First Road, Quezon Hill Proper, Baguio City.
“The IBFL is neither licensed and authorized by the DMW to recruit and place Filipino workers nor does have any approved job orders to Japan. Ito ay malinaw na illegal recruitment ng ating mga kababayan na nais magtrabaho sa Japan,” Undersecretary Olalia said.
(This is clearly illegal recruitment of our fellow citizens who want to work in Japan.)
Surveillance operations conducted by the MWPB revealed that IBFL has been illegally recruiting their Japanese language graduates as farmers, caregivers, factory workers, and food processing workers in Japan with salaries ranging from Php 80,000 to Php 100,000.
The closure operation on IBFL stemmed from a complaint filed by a job applicant who sought help from MWPB.
The complainant is one of the graduates of IBFL who was recruited to work in Japan and paid more than P57,000 to cover his plane ticket, service fee, and visa processing.
Meanwhile, Baguio City mayor Benjamin Magalong expressed his full support in combating illegal recruitment and immediately ordered the cancellation of the business permit and license of IBFL.
With its closure, IBFL’s officers and employees will be included in DMW’s List of Persons and Establishments with Derogatory Record to prevent them from participating in the government’s overseas recruitment program.
The DMW will also file a case of syndicated illegal recruitment against the officers and employees of the training center.
The DMW is urging other applicants who fell victim to IBFL’s illegal activities to contact the MWPB for the filing of cases.
MWPB may be contacted through their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dmwairtip and through their email at mwpb@dmw.gov.ph.