UAE, Philippines step up efforts against visa scams

The Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the UAE’s Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) are committed to surmount challenges surrounding the welfare and protection of all Filipino contract workers bilaterally and multilaterally.

On visa scams, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said: “There is a continuing cooperation between DMW and MoHRE to address these; the joint information campaign to fight it, and the cooperation with respect to running after the visa scam perpetrators.”

Reporters interviewed Cacdac on Sunday, the second day of the fourth leg of the Marcos Jr. Administration’s “Serbisyo Caravan sa Dubai” and the fifth annual “Salamat Kabayan: Alay sa mga Kasambahay sa Diwa ng Pasko” (“A Christmas Gift to the Domestic Workers”) with over 700 in attendance at the Al Hudaiba Sports Hall in Al Twar 2.

Cacdac was enquired of his 2:30 pm Saturday meeting with Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation Abdulrahman Abdulmannan Al Awar. He was with Ambassador to the UAE Alfonso Ferdinand Ver, Consul General in Dubai and the Northern Emirates Ambrosio Brian Enciso III, Migrant Workers-Policy and International Cooperation Undersecretary Jainal Rasul Jr. and Labour Attache in Dubai and the Northern Emirates John Rio Bautista.

They discussed the “various measures, programmes and services that we provide to protect our overseas Filipino workers in the UAE,” including the “9th Abu Dhabi Dialogue” (ADD) to be held in Manila “next year.”

“We proceeded to discuss as well cooperation with respect to addressing and fighting those who prey upon job applicants here in the UAE.”

Concomitantly, most recent, at least 400 out-of-job Filipinos across the UAE had been conned by compatriots, the two alleged ringleaders having reported to have escaped to the Philippines.

“To our countrymen here, please continue to refer to us cases of victimisation. We will help them. We had committed to Minister Al Awar to cooperate and coordinate with the minister and jointly find ways and measures, including information campaign so that our job applicants and Filipino workers will not be victimised.”

Cacdac updated Al Awar on the continuing enhancement of anti-overseas job fraud schemes with the Dubai-based Data Flow Group that began with the digitalised job documentation verification 2024 pilot study carried out at the Migrant Workers Office-Dubai.

“By the end of this year” and from the July 2025 Memorandum of Agreement, “the employer accreditation in the UAE will be digitalised. This will facilitate the job requests and job orders that will bring in the job applicants for work in the UAE.”

The meeting tackled too, the “line-up of meetings and conferences” that concentrate on the four DMW-chosen themes for the “9th ADD:” Digital Transformation, Remittance and Social Protection, Fair and Ethical Recruitment.

“Cooperation of member-states on skills enhancement and development, protective measures on the safe and ethical recruitment of OFWs and other workers across all the labour-sending states.”

The Philippines is the 2026-2028 Chair of the inter-governmental cooperation between eight other labour-sending countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand) and six other labour-receiving states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia).

The UAE through the MoHRE serves as the Permanent Secretariat. Thus, “the ‘9th ADD Secretariat head’ is Minister Al Awar.”

The “Serbisyo Caravan” recorded a surge of clients compared to the 4,000 registered. The first day took place at the Millennium Dowtown Dubai. On Sunday, the 12 participating Manila and UAE-based government agencies also serviced at the Philippine Consulate General and Migrant Workers Office in Al Qusais.

For the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DWSD), original registered was 47. DSWD Caraga Region (Mindanao) Director Mariflor Dollaga said her team of three social workers and Atty. Sheila Balbastro from the Manila central office ended with 170 at 9 pm on Saturday. One involved a Stage 4 Endometrium Cancer-stricken domestic worker with a cancelled work visa. She has no means for treatment.

The team began transferring details of the cases to the regional offices at 10 pm of Saturday so that on Monday, data gathering and care on the families back home would begin.