DMW Shuts Down Language Centers Linked to Illegal Recruitment

Picture courtesy of Manila Bulletin

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has closed three language training centers implicated in illegal recruitment and human trafficking during coordinated operations in Bulacan and Cebu on May 16. The centers ordered to cease operations are the IWA Language Learning Center in Malolos, Bulacan; Aseanway Learning and Development Center in Calumpit, Bulacan; and its Cebu branch in Lapu-Lapu City.

The DMW revealed that the IWA Language Training Center, which began operations this year, allegedly engaged in a scheme where they referred students to partner recruitment agencies upon completion of their training. Trainees were reportedly charged between P50,000 to P70,000 for job placements in countries like Japan, Korea, and some European nations as factory workers, hotel staff, agriculture workers, and fruit pickers.

DMW Undersecretary for Licensing and Adjudication Services, Bernard Olalia, stated that the language center did not possess authorization to recruit or refer workers for overseas employment. The other two centers supposedly employed similar tactics in referring trainees to affiliated agencies.

Olalia added that a comprehensive investigation is underway to determine the identities of the registered owners of these establishments, amidst suspicions that they might be operated by a single individual or family.

This development highlights the DMW's ongoing commitment to cracking down on illicit recruitment activities and safeguarding prospective overseas workers from exploitation and trafficking.

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Manila Bulletin 2025-05-16