Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 12) — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) warned on Tuesday against a recruitment scheme where overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) illegally work in a transit country instead of their original destination.
In a live broadcast on X (formerly Twitter), DMW officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac cautioned that such a scheme could be a recipe for trouble for OFWs. He said the department would issue an advisory against it on Wednesday.
\”We would issue an advisory on upcoming, hindi (not) upcoming, but a current practice of so-called third country hiring,\” said Cacdac.
The DMW official said that there were instances wherein some OFWs with reentry visas to Saudi Arabia, stay first in the Philippines for a vacation and later book a flight returning to Saudi Arabia with a layover in Dubai.
But instead of boarding the flight to Saudi Arabia, these OFWs stay in Dubai to find other work, the agency added.
\”This is a fair warning to OFWs, apparently they are so called willing victims with this practice,\” said Cacdac.
\”Pag kayo po ay may reentry [visa] sa isang bansa, tulad ng Saudi, wag na po kayong tumalon at magpunta elsewhere,\” he added. \”Diretsyo po ng Saudi, wag pong bumaba ng transit destination, doon sa transit country para magbalak o magtangka magtrabaho kasi recipe yan sa pagiging isang distressed o sa pagkakaroon ng problema sa empleyo sa transit country.\”
[Translation: If you have a reentry visa to a country like Saudi Arabia, please do not go somewhere else. Go directly to Saudi and do not stay at the transit country to look for a job because that’s a recipe for being distressed or having employment issues in the transit country.]
