Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople has ordered the closure of a maritime consultancy firm in Sta. Cruz, Manila for alleged illegal recruitment activities.
Acting on orders of the Secretary, the department’s Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (DMW-MWPB), formerly the Anti-Illegal Recruitment Branch, padlocked the office of JCB-Success Maritime Consultancy Services yesterday afternoon.
“We encourage victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking to report these crimes to us. Workers’ protection is one of the core functions of the DMW,” Ople said.
Manuel Jericho L. Ramos, one of the victims, said in his sworn testimony that he applied for the position of engine cadet posted by JCB in September 2021, a year and a half ago.
He and three other applicants were promised deployment within a three-month period which never happened. They were also asked to pay P75,000 each as placement fee and were encouraged to convince other colleagues to apply for positions offered by JCB.
The bogus agency had been offering jobs as deck seafarers, able engine seafarers, oilers, engineers, and yacht stewards.
It allegedly required applicants to submit their travel documents such as Seafarer’s Identification and Record Book (SIRB), passport, resume, and skill certifications.
After evaluation, the firm would refer the applicants to an international manning agency for deployment. The applicants were told that the said counterpart agency decides on the deployment and the collection of fees.
Even those deemed unqualified were promised jobs.
The agency claimed that they have been deploying applicants since November 2022.
With its closure, JCB-Success Maritime Consultancy Services, its owner, employees, and officers will be included in the DMW’s list of persons and establishments with derogatory records. They will be barred from participating in the government’s overseas recruitment program.
The DMW will file illegal recruitment cases against the firm’s owner and officers.
Under Republic Act No. 8042, as amended by Republic Act No. 10022, any act of hiring Filipino workers, undertaken without license or authority from the DMW, is considered illegal recruitment.
