 |
| The 2 companies face illegal recruitment charges |
A long-time licensed recruitment agency in the Philippines has been closed down by the Department of Migrant Workers for allegedly working with a travel agency to illegally recruit workers for Poland.
Reliable Recruitment Corporation, which has been operating
for decades and is licensed to operate until June 2026, has been ordered closed
by the Department of Migrant Workers along with its “accomplice”, the Reiven
Air Travel Tours and Consultancy.
This was according to a statement released by the
DMW yesterday, July 3, along with photos and videos of the Manila offices of
the two companies being padlocked.
Officers of the Migrant Protection Bureau and Manila
Police carried out the closure of Reliable’s office in Ermita and Reiven’s in
San Andres, in line with Closure Order Nos. 15 at
16, Series of 2025, which were issued following an in-depth investigation.
 |
| Basahin ang detalye! |
Reliable, which has three other offices across
the Philippines, is licensed to recruit and place for overseas Filipino workers
in Hong Kong and other destinations abroad. But according to DMW, it is not licensed to recruit for jobs in Poland.
The
investigation revealed that Reiven was carrying out its illegal recruitment
activities inside Reliable’s office, including the orientation seminar for
applicants for the jobs of fruit picker, farmer, truck driver and welder in
Poland.
The applicants were reportedly promised salaries of about Php90,000 per month, but they must pay at least Php70,000 in processing fee to the company.
Before they could even attend the orientation seminar, they were required to get a referral from Reliable and pay the processing fee.
DMW Assistant Secretary Jerome Alcantara said two applicants of Reiven and Reliable had complained that they were not able to leave for Poland despite paying the processing fee.
“Reiven acted as a recruiter when travel agencies are strictly not allowed to do so. They worked with Reliable, which misrepresented job opportunities to applicants,” said Alcantara.
He added that although licensed, Reliable only has a job order for mushroom pickers, but not for fruit pickers or any other jobs.
DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia who joined the raids on the two companies said their investigation revealed that while the applicants were promised a salary of Php90,000 their registered contract stated a salary of only Php50,000.
He said the documents seized from the two companies will be studied to see if there were actual job orders for the posts they promised to the applicants.
 |
| A staff member of Reiven is shown being led away during a live coverage of the raids |
The DMW post drew a number of reactions from various people, including those who claimed they had paid up to Php100,000 for the promised jobs. They were told by DMW staff manning the page to send them a private message if they wanted to get their money back.
According to the DMW, those conducting the orientation were employees of World Bridge Recruitment Spolka Z.O.O., a Poland-based placement agency registered with the DMW.
Reiven is charged with violating Republic Act No 10022, which strictly prohibits travel agencies from engaging in any recruitment activities.
Reliable, on the other hand, has a job order for only one kind of work in Poland, while World Bridge did not have the required Letter of Authority from DMW to conduct the recruitment.
DMW said that because of these violations, both Reiven and Reliable will be included in its list of recruitment agencies with derogatory record. In addition, the Department will recommend the cancellation of their business registrations with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC_ and business licenses with the City of Manila.
All
victims of Reiven and Reliable are urged to communicate with DMW’s Migrant
Workers Protection Bureau through its Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/dmwairtip so
they can be extended legal help.
