11/02/2025
News Release
Department of Migrant Workers
11 February 2025
๐๐๐: ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ, ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐
๐๐ฌ
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) warns Filipinos seeking job opportunities in Japan to be cautious of employment offers from Japanese Language Training Centers, as they are not authorized to recruit workers for overseas work.
Pursuant to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.โs directive to protect the overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) made the warning to further safeguard would-be OFWs from exploitative illegal recruiters who are preying on the vulnerability of the Filipino job seekers.
DMW Officer-in-Charge Bernard P. Olalia emphasized that language training of workers should only occur after they have gone through the selection and pre-qualification processes done by the Japanese employers. Also, the training costs should be shouldered by employers, not the applicants.
โCandidates will be directed to language training centers only after they submit the required documents and undergo the selection process by Japanese employers. This is part of the deployment process for the Technical Internship Training Program (TITP) and the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) program, not for employment referrals,โ said Olalia.
He also clarified that under the TITP track, employers cover the language training fees of their trainees, while for the SSW program, training costs varies per agreement by the employer and the worker.
โUnder Republic Act No. 8042, Section 6, illegal recruitment involves any act of referring, promising, or advertising for overseas employment by individuals or entities that lack the necessary license or authority from the DMW, regardless of whether these actions are conducted for profit,โ he further said.
Recently, the DMW, in collaboration with local authorities, shut down Hikari Japanese Learning Center Corp's head office in Panabo City, Davao Del Norte, along with its branches in Manila, Rosario, Cavite, Davao City, and General Santos City for illegally recruiting vulnerable Filipino job seekers to Japan. # # #
