THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) closed on Thursday the main office and four branches of Hikari Japanese Learning Center Corp, a language and culture learning center illegally offering overseas employment in Japan.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac ordered the closure of the learning center to further safeguard would-be OFWs from exploitative illegal recruiters who are preying on the vulnerability of the Filipino job seekers.
The DMW, through its Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB) and in coordination with local government and police officers, padlocked Hikari Japanese Learning Center Corp head office in Panabo City, Davao Del Norte, and its four branches located in Manila City, Rosario, Cavite, Davao City, and General Santos City.
“The closure of this learning center is a product of our intensified campaign to combatting illegal recruitment as among the directives of the President. We reiterate this warning to our Kababayans, especially those who aspire to work abroad— please, do not deal with recruiting entities that do not have license or authorization from the DMW to recruit and deploy workers for overseas jobs,” Cacdac said.
Hikari Japanese Learning Center, without the necessary license and authority from the DMW, has been offering various jobs to Japan, such as work in the sectors of hotel and restaurant service, food processing, caregiving, farming, and food and beverage manufacturing under the Technical Internship Training Program (TITP) and and later transitioning to the Specified Skilled Worker Program (SSWP).
Based on the series surveillances conducted by the MWPB, Hikari entices its applicants to enroll in their four-month language training in consideration of Php 33,710 language training fees, which may be paid by installment. Hikari then refers the applicants who are passers of JFT/JLPT N4 and PROMETRIC Specified Skilled Worker Tests allegedly for screening of its tie-up agencies for deployment.
The management of the learning center will face illegal recruitment charges and all its officers will be included in the DMW’s “List of Persons and Establishments with Derogatory Record.” They will be permanently denied participation in the government’s overseas recruitment program.
The closure of Hikari, which stemmed from DMW’s active monitoring on social media platforms, is the first simultaneous closure operation of the MWPB this year to crack down on illegal recruiters preying on OFWs and applicants who wish to work abroad.
The DMW encourages the victims of Hikari to contact the MWPB through their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dmwairtip, email at mwpb@dmw.gov.ph or through their hotline number +63 2 8721-0619 for legal assistance in filing cases against the learning center
