MANILA: A technical vocational institution (TVI) in Quezon City was shut down by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Friday for illegal recruitment for allegedly offering bogus jobs in Taiwan.
DMW Officer in Charge Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac, together with personnel of the Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB) and the QC Police District, conducted a closure operation of the Match Trend Training Assessment Center located at 145 Biak na Bato St.
‘Match Trend, under the guise of a technical vocational institution, preys on the hopes of aspiring Filipino workers to work in Taiwan by charging exorbitant training and processing fees and illegally referring them to foreign employers. This is a clear case of illegal recruitment,’ Cacdac said.
He said despite having a registered program on Caretaker Level II, Match Trend is not an accredited assessment center with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
He added that Match Trend is not an accredited agency of the DMW and doe
s not have any legitimate job orders.
During the closure operation, Cacdac also inspected the “facilities” of Match Trend and deplored the squalid conditions its resident “trainees” were forced to live in.
The DMW said surveillance operations were conducted by the MWPB before its closure operation, where it was disclosed that Match Trend charged an amount of PHP30,000 as training fee for the caretaker program.
Applicants were asked to pay an initial amount of PHP6,000 upon enrollment and were referred to a lending institution in case they could not afford the required payment.
Upon completion of the training program, applicants will then be referred to foreign employers who collect processing fees ranging from PHP40,000 to PHP45,000.
Aside from the caretaker jobs, the MWPB disclosed that the training center also offered employment as factory workers in Taiwan.
Cacdac said Match Trend and its staff would be included in the DMW ‘List of Persons and Establishments with Derogatory Record’ to prevent them fr
om participating in the government’s overseas recruitment program.
Moreover, its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Program Registration certificate with the TESDA will be revoked.
The DMW encourages the victims of Match Trend to contact the MWPB through its Facebook page at email at [email protected], or through their hotline number +63 2 8721-0619 for legal assistance in filing cases against the training center.
Cacdac reiterated his warning to Filipino overseas jobseekers to never engage with training centers or firms promising jobs abroad without the appropriate license and approved job orders from the DWM.
Filipino overseas jobseekers may visit the DMW website for the list of licensed agencies with approved job orders.
Source: Philippines News Agency