DECADES after launching the highly-successful overseas employment program, the Philippines is still bothered by the nefarious activities of sweet-talking illegal recruiters.

In fact, many problematic overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), most of them young women from the impoverished countryside, are victims of foreign or local-based illegal recruiters.

Reports said the families of some of these victims of illegal recruiters sold their carabaos, cows, pigs and even their lands just to pay the services of these unscrupulous Filipinos.

Certainly, the continued presence of illegal recruiters is a big challenge to the new Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), which is headed by Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople.

But we share the view of many Filipinos that if illegal recruiters still manage to victimize jobseekers, blame it partly on the reluctance of victims to press charges against the suspects.

“Ang problema kasi ay kung naibalik na ang perang ibinayad nila sa mga illegal recruiter ay patatawarin na lang nila ang mga suspek,” an irate female jobseeker lamented.

That’s the problem of well-meaning public servants tasked to go after illegal recruiters and their greedy protectors in the government service, according to the jobseeker.

“Pero hindi naman natin masisisi ang ilang biktima ng mga recruiter, lalo na ‘yong mga taga-probinsiya, kasi napakalaking abala ang pagdalo-dalo sa mga court hearing,” she added.

In the Philippines, people often hear reports of victims of illegal recruiters and ruthless foreign employers returning home battered, penniless, sexually abused and sick.

Thus, we, like other Filipinos, doff our hat to the administration of President Marcos for showing its determination to protect the interests of our migrant workers.

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