THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) shut down on Friday, December 15, 2023, a technical vocational institution (TVI) for engaging in illegal recruitment activities by allegedly offering jobs in Taiwan.
Assisted by the Quezon City police, the DMW-Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB) padlocked the office of Match Trend Training Assessment Center located at 145 Biak na Bato St. in Quezon City.
"Match Trend is neither licensed by the DMW to recruit and place Filipino workers overseas, nor an accredited assessment center with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda)," noted DMW Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac in a statement.
“Match Trend, under the guise as 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,” he said.
Surveillance operations of DMW-MWPB revealed that Match Trend promises overseas employment to female caretakers in Taiwan in exchange for a P30,000 training fee, with an initial payment of P6,000 for enrollment.
Applicants are being referred to a lending institution in case they cannot afford the required payment, noted DMW.
Once the applicants finish their training, the department said Match Trend will refer them to foreign employers.
The foreign employers will, then, collect processing fees amounting from P40,000 to P45,000 depending on the agency chosen by the foreign employer, according to DMW.
With the shutdown of Match Trend, the training center and its staff are now included in the DMW “List of Persons and Establishments with Derogatory Record,” thereby preventing them from participating in the government’s overseas recruitment program.
The DMW similarly encouraged victims of Match Trend to contact the MWPB for them to be provided legal assistance in filing criminal cases against the training center. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)