An immigration consulting company in Makati was not licensed to conduct recruitment activities and was ordered to close!

According to Philippine media reports, on October 11, an immigration consulting company in Makati City was found to be engaged in illegal recruitment activities and was ordered to close down.

Susan Ople, secretary of the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), led the Department's Anti-Illegal Recruitment Office (AIRB), Makati police and village officials to close down K-Monster Inc..

During the initial surveillance operation, AIRB found that K-Monster were providing jobs for hotel staff, room attendants, cashiers, waiters, paramedics and factory workers to deploy to Poland, Canada and the Netherlands.

Its Facebook page states that it is a licensed immigration consulting company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, with a branch in Manila, providing education, immigration and employment consulting services for job seekers to contact Canadian and European companies to obtain permanent residency.
However, DMW said K-Monster did not have a permit to recruit workers.

"DMW has zero tolerance for illegal recruiters and traffickers! K-Monster does not have the right to conduct recruitment activities because it does not have permission from POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) and does not have any approved work orders."

The so-called South Korean headquarters, known as an international talent solution provider or personnel agency, worked with local recruitment agencies to obtain approved work orders in Canada, Poland, the United States and Papua New Guinea.

DMW's investigation team said K-Monster allegedly had been illegally collecting "pre-processing" fees ranging from 80000 to 220000 Philippine pesos.

K-Monster claim that these fees will include the cost of documents such as resumes, passports, visas, work permits, other travel requirements and approval of potential foreign employers.

Op said they will file illegal recruitment charges against K-Monster and will assist victims in filing individual cases.

K-Monster and its employees will be included in DMW's list of people and institutions with derogatory records, hindering their participation in the government's future overseas recruitment plan.

"The DMW is determined to protect our nationals from the activities of illegal recruiters. At the same time, we ask them to be vigilant and always check with the DMW before providing services with any company or institution that promises to work abroad."