DMW shuts down travel agency for alleged illegal recruitment

A Quezon City-based travel agency illegally recruiting Filipino workers for bogus jobs in Poland was shut down, the Department of Migrant Workers (DWM) reported Monday.

The DMW through its Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB) in coordination with the Quezon City police, padlocked the office of Tranvia Travel Agency located on P. Tuazon Boulevard, Cubao, Quezon City late Monday afternoon.

“We would like to recognize the efforts of our Filipino Community in Poland which called the attention of our Migrant Workers Office in Prague (MWO-Prague) to investigate these illegal recruitment activities. Without their help we would not have thwarted Tranvia Travel’s illegal activities,” DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo J. Cacdac said.

MWO-Prague which exercises jurisdiction over Poland discovered that Tranvia Travel was using social media platforms, such as Facebook and WhatsApp to prey on prospective applicants.

The agency was operating without the necessary license or authority from the DMW.

They were promising jobs for warehousemen, factory workers, and nurses in Poland with prospective monthly salaries ranging from P80,000 – Php100,000.

Further surveillance operations conducted by the MWPB revealed that the agency was charging processing fees from prospective applicants of P200,000 to P350,000. The processing fee can be paid with the option of a one-time payment or on a staggered basis, payable in three installments, and is non-refundable.

Officers and personnel of Tranvia Travel Agency will face serious charges of illegal recruitment and will be included in the DMW "List of Persons and Establishments with Derogatory Record" and shall be blacklisted from participating in the government’s overseas recruitment program.

The closure of the travel agency is the fourth closure operation conducted by the DMW to crack down on illegal recruiters preying on OFWs and applicants who wish to work abroad.

The DMW urges other applicants who fell victim to the illegal recruitment activities of Tranvia Travel Agency to contact the MWPB for the filing of cases against the travel agency.