WITH illegal recruitment activities proliferating on social media, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) yesterday announced plans to widen its online presence to better protect aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
In his speech during the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Tiktok Pte Ltd., Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said they are increasing their presence on social media to counter disinformation and illegal recruitment activities.
“We recognize that the fight against trafficking has shifted in many ways to the digital space, where false promises are spread, and where vulnerable Filipinos are often targeted,” said Cacdac.
“We will use TikTok not just to trend, but to teach. Not just to entertain, but to educate. And most importantly, to protect,” he added.
Cacdac said there is a need to widen efforts to prevent illegal recruitment by protecting OFWs from disinformation, even from their mobile screens.
“This is our way of countering disinformation with truth, fear with empowerment, and vulnerability with resilience,” said Cacdac.
Based on the latest data, Migrant Workers Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said they are currently handling 300 cases of illegal recruitment from January 2025 to June 2025 alone. This is higher than the 71 illegal recruitment cases recorded during the same period last year.
Olalia said the most common misinformation and illegal recruitment activities they have identified concern the opening of new OFW markets as well as the supposed enforcement of government-to-government arrangements.
“It is good that TikTok is now part of our campaign and we will continue to work on this so that OFWs can avoid seeing inappropriate posts that encourage inappropriate deployment methods,” said Olalia.
