A TRAVEL agency was shut down by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) for alleged illegal recruitment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Padlocked were the Dreamer Travel and Tours Services located at Paseo del Congreso, Catmon, Malolos City in Bulacan, for allegedly recruiting OFWs for bogus jobs in Europe in exchange for large amounts of fees.
DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia, head of the Licensing and Adjudication Services cluster, led the closure operations along with the Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB) in coordination with the Malolos City police.
“Once again, the Filipino community in Poland proved to be a valuable ally in stopping these illegal activities. We thank them for their vigilance in reporting the illegal activities of High Dreamer to our Migrant Workers Office in Prague (MWO-Prague).” DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said.
MWO-Prague, which exercises jurisdiction over Poland, conducted an investigation and discovered that High Dreamer was offering overseas jobs to Filipinos through Facebook. High Dreamer has no valid license to offer jobs overseas and is not a registered recruitment agency, DMW said.
High Dreamer allegedly offered jobs such as production workers, agricultural workers, cleaners, restaurant workers, construction workers, and cleaners in various European countries, particularly Croatia, with monthly salaries ranging from P70,000 to P80,000.
It was learned that High Dreamer collected a processing fee of P100,000 and a placement fee of P300,000 from each applicant. The payment was non-refundable and could be settled in three instalments.
In addition to charges of illegal recruitment, High Dreamer would also be included in the DMW's "List of Persons and Establishments with Derogatory Record," and would be banned from participating in the government’s overseas recruitment program.