OFW scams, trafficking continue

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega warns Filipinos, as well as neighboring foreign workers seeking employment abroad, to avoid falling prey to internet recruiters and scammers, who may lead them to be illegally recruited and trafficked for POGO jobs and, in some cases, for surrogacy work.

On the sidelines last week of Malaysian digital bank CIMB’s new product offering for Filipino overseas workers, De Vega revealed that the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) continue to deal with illegally recruited or trafficked OFWs, as well as foreign workers from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), who come to the Philippines or transit through the country only to be brought to a third country for illegal work.

In the past, DFA Usec de Vega revealed, the Philippines had to help repatriate hundreds of illegally recruited women from Myanmar who were brought to Thailand through the Philippines. The women were used for scamming operations.

Some of the foreign workers, Usec De Vega said, are “ASEAN citizens coming to (the) Philippines for POGOs. So that’s a problem.”

There was also a case in the past, Usec De Vega recalled, involving 20 women who were brought to Cambodia for surrogacy work.

Surrogacy is a process in which a woman carries and delivers a child for a couple or individual. Surrogate mothers are impregnated through the use of in vitro fertilization (IVF). A legal contract is required for intended parents and their carrier before medical treatment begins.

The scammers/illegal recruiters, de Vega said, “are part of some sort of regional network where they lure people to go to one place in Southeast Asia, then go around...”

However, the DFA cannot identify exactly who the perpetrators are, he said, but admitted that some of the identified employers are Chinese.

Usec De Vega expressed exasperation at the continuing gullibility of victims. “The problem is we cannot keep offloading those pretending to be tourists... They fly to Thailand and we don’t have the time to check if they are tourists. You can’t keep doing that, you can’t keep offloading them.”

He further admitted that concerned Philippine authorities have intercepted “at least a few thousand or maybe over a thousand over the past few years.”

As such, he said, the DFA, DMW and BI are trying to educate OFWs to go through the proper recruitment process.

“One way is what we’re doing now. We’re talking to the public – do not believe in these internet offers. If you’re going to be offered a job, dadaan dapat sa DMW para may agency, para legitimate ‘yung trabaho. Otherwise, there’s no guarantee. They’re very nice offers, pero hindi totoo,” he warned.

CIMB’s new OFW product

CIMB Bank Philippines, a digital-only commercial bank in the country that has now gained 8.5 million Filipino depositors, last week announced its new offering that specifically targets Filipino overseas workers.

In a ceremony held at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, with no less than visiting Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Dato Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Malaysian Ambassador Dato Abdul Malik Melvin Castelo, DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac, Usec De Vega and CIMB Bank PH CEO Vijay Manoharan, CIMB unveiled its CIMB Kababayan savings product, which offers a very high interest rate of 15 percent with no minimum maintaining balance requirement.

CIMB Bank PH is the local branch of the Malaysian-headquartered CIMB Group, a universal bank and the 5th largest banking group in the ASEAN region.

CIMB Kababayan allows OFWs to easily open a CIMB savings account on the CIMB mobile app in less than 10 minutes. They can pay bills, enjoy free Instapay transfers through the same app and transfer funds from overseas seamlessly upon the launch of the CIMB PH remittance service.

2024 Virtus Awards

Homegrown Filipino hotel brands Belmont Hotel Manila and Megaworld Hotels & Resorts, along with The Ascott Limited, Midas Hotel and Casino, Novotel and Ibis Styles Manila Araneta City, recently took home this year’s prestigious Virtus Awards, given annually by the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) Philippines to recognize the best of the best in the country’s hotel sales and marketing industry.

Under the individual categories, the Virtus Award for Outstanding Sales and Marketing Associate was given to Belmont Hotel Manila eCommerce executive Mika Paula Bustillo and The Ascott Limited assistant manager for Content & Graphics Christian Paulo Morales, while Midas Hotel and Casino senior sales manager for rooms Ma. Fe Pulga received the Virtus Award for Outstanding Sales and Marketing Manager. The honor of Outstanding Sales and Marketing Leader was bestowed upon Erwin Fidel Doña III, director of marketing and communications at Novotel and Ibis Styles Manila Araneta City.

Megaworld Hotels & Resorts, on the other hand, won the sole group category, the Institutional Award for Most Outstanding Marketing Campaign of the Year, for its “The Sampaguita” campaign, establishing the company’s unique brand of hospitality. The brains behind the campaign included team leader Charlene Go-Co, head of marketing innovation, and her team members Cleofe Albiso, managing director; Jun Justo, cluster general manager - NCR; Sonny Alvaro, cluster general manager - F&B; Claire Bernabe, director of customer experience and new ventures; and Nico Ivan Velasquez, group director of public relations.

The awards ceremony was held at the Dusit Thani Manila under the theme “A Decade of Distinction,” as the Virtus Awards celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. As part of this special milestone, Virtus Awards chair Rose Hilario-Libongco was recognized as an Honorary Virtus Awardee for her extensive and successful career in the hotel sales and marketing industry. Libongco had previously held the reins of sales and marketing for three top international chain hotels: Sofitel Philippine Plaza, the Westin Philippine Plaza Manila and the InterContinental Manila.