The Philippines is leading calls for stronger regional action against fraudulent online recruitment and safer migration pathways as it opened the 19th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour (AFML) at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.
Through the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the country is hosting the two-day forum under its chairmanship of the ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW) for 2025 to 2026.
With the theme, “Protection of Migrant Workers through Regular and Safe Migration Pathways,” the gathering brings together ASEAN member states, trade unions, employer confederations, international organizations, and civil society groups to develop coordinated responses to emerging risks in labor migration.
The forum focuses on the growing threat of cyber-enabled recruitment scams, in which criminal syndicates use social media and other digital platforms to lure jobseekers with fraudulent overseas employment offers. Victims may be trapped in debt, transferred through unauthorized recruitment channels, and forced into labor or cross-border cyber-scam operations.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac said digital platforms and remote work have created opportunities for migrant workers but have also been exploited for illegal recruitment, misinformation, and human trafficking.
“The rise of the digital platforms and remote work has provided opportunities for migrant workers, but at the same time, the same platforms are now used for misinformation, illegal recruitment and trafficking in persons that have led many into forced criminality,” Cacdac said.
He said the forum aims to develop measures that will ensure migrant workers can access protection, remedies, and support when exposed to online recruitment scams and related risks.
“We are here to identify solutions that provide access to protection, remedy and support to migrant workers. The ultimate aim is to formulate and adopt recommendations that will ensure protection of migrant workers relative to online recruitment and associated risks,” Cacdac also said.
The discussions will focus on two major areas: addressing online recruitment challenges and improving migrant workers’ access to protection, remedies, and support.
Under the first priority, participants will identify regulatory gaps in cross-border remote recruitment, strengthen digital literacy standards before departure, and explore partnerships with technology companies and initiatives, including Meta, TikTok, and Tech Against Trafficking, to help identify and remove predatory job listings.
The second priority focuses on strengthening victim identification, removing barriers to justice, and ensuring that migrant workers, regardless of their legal status, can access effective cross-border grievance mechanisms and comprehensive legal assistance.
The 19th AFML builds on regional commitments, including the 2007 Cebu Declaration, the 2017 ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, and the ASEAN Declaration on Fair, Ethical, and Sustainable Recruitment for Empowered Migrant Workers.
These agreements promote fair recruitment practices, including opposing the charging of recruitment fees and related costs to workers.
Through the forum, ASEAN stakeholders are expected to develop recommendations to strengthen regional cooperation against online recruitment fraud and improve safeguards for migrant workers seeking employment abroad.