The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) reported major achievements in 2025, highlighted by intensified law enforcement, expanded protection for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and accelerated digital reforms, including the arrest or filing of cases against 25 individuals linked to illegal recruitment for scam hubs in several Southeast Asian countries.
During a year-end press briefing, DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said that as part of its stepped-up enforcement drive, the department ordered the closure of 32 illegal recruitment agencies since January, more than double the 15 shut down in 2024, marking its most aggressive crackdown to date on unlawful recruitment activities.
In coordination with the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking and the Department of Foreign Affairs, the department successfully repatriated 204 Filipinos from scam hubs in Myanmar in 2025.
The DMW also opened a new Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Bangkok, expanding on-the-ground support for OFWs in Southeast Asia.
Labor diplomacy advanced during the year, with the DMW signing 10 new bilateral labor agreements, bringing the Philippines’ total to 72. The agreements aim to enhance worker protection, standardize employment contracts, and improve dispute-resolution mechanisms in key destination countries.
The department reiterated its commitment to overseas domestic worker protection, citing reinforced safeguards such as the prohibition of passport and mobile phone confiscation, guaranteed access to justice, and tighter monitoring of employers and recruiters.
While salary increases remain largely voluntary, the DMW reported around 3,000 job orders in 2025 offering wages of at least $500, above the usual $400 benchmark. Hong Kong raised domestic worker wages to about $600, while Malaysia also implemented pay increases.
The DMW also rolled out additional protective initiatives this year, including the “Kamusta Kabayan” mobile application and a “Know Your Employer” video interview protocol designed to better inform workers before deployment.
The department deployed 25 international lawyers and legal assistance teams to provide legal support to OFWs abroad.
Cacdac also cited progress in high-risk and humanitarian cases, noting that the sentences of two Filipino death-row inmates in Saudi Arabia were commuted in 2025.
He further pointed to the department’s response to major emergencies affecting OFWs, including Houthi attacks in the Red Sea involving vessels with Filipino crew members, the Myanmar earthquake, and the Tai Po fire in Hong Kong.
