Camille Naredo

Passengers on a chartered flight from the Middle East—consisting of 153 Overseas Filipino Workers, 114 dependents, and 50 stranded Filipinos—arrived at Villamor Air Base on March 19, 2026. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool

Passengers on a chartered flight from the Middle East—consisting of 153 Overseas Filipino Workers, 114 dependents, and 50 stranded Filipinos—arrived at Villamor Air Base on March 19, 2026.
The third chartered flight was made possible through coordination with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the Philippine Consulate General and Migrant Workers Office in Dubai, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). The repatriation followed instructions from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to assist Filipinos who opted to return to the country amid growing tensions in the Middle East.  Yummie Dingding, PPA pool

Article (news)

OFWS- REPATRIATON

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177805336831020260320-ofw-repatriation-middle-east-conflict-PPA16.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Passengers on a chartered flight from the Middle East—consisting of 153 Overseas Filipino Workers, 114 dependents, and 50 stranded Filipinos—arrived at Villamor Air Base on March 19, 2026. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool" width="960"/>Passengers on a chartered flight from the Middle East—consisting of 153 Overseas Filipino Workers, 114 dependents, and 50 stranded Filipinos—arrived at Villamor Air Base on March 19, 2026. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool</div>MANILA — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Wednesday warned the public against employment scams online, especially as thousands of Filipino workers have been displaced due to the conflict in the Middle East.Scammers have been profiling Filipinos who actively look for work online before approaching them, DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia told state television PTV.“Yung Facebook account mo kaya nilang i-profile… Kapag nalaman nila na madalas ka maghanap ng trabaho online, alam nila na papatulan mo pag pinadalhan nila ng post,” Olalia said. “Inaaral ka nila, may AI tayo diyan, napaka high tech na nila.”<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/2/around-1-300-filipino-seafarers-have-safely-crossed-hormuz-strait-cacdac-1219">READ: Around 1,300 Filipino seafarers have safely crossed Hormuz strait – Cacdac</a></div>Among the red flags are job offers without the issuance of proper work permits, particularly those offering overseas jobs using student or tourist visas, the Undersecretary said.“Kapag pinatos niyo yang tourist visa at kayo ay magtratrabaho, hindi niyo na makikita kung ano yung nilalaman ng employment contract. Hindi niyo alam na under labor standards, below the minimum ang ibibigay sa inyo,” he said.“Hindi ninyo alam sino yung employer baka blacklisted… kaya hindi natin binigyan ng pagkakataon na magprocess ng mga permit,” he said.Olalia advised jobseekers to ignore offers that do not provide transparent transactions with government agencies, and those that immediately require payment from the applicant.“Kapag kayo ay sinisingil agad na magpadala ka ng GCash, magpadala online, kung may hinihingi na kung anu-anong processing fee, wag ninyo na hong patulan dahil malamang ito ay illegal recruiter,” he said.Olalia did not say if there has been a spike in reported employment scams in recent months after some 9,000 overseas Filipino workers were repatriated from Gulf countries after the series of air strikes from US-Israeli and Iranian troops jolted the region.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/1/repatriates-seek-overseas-jobs-at-dmw-labor-day-fair-1407">READ: Repatriates seek overseas jobs at DMW Labor Day fair</a></div>Meanwhile, the DMW has partnered with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to help scam victims to trace and retrieve funds that they have sent to bogus employment agencies.

The Department of Migrant Workers on Wednesday warned the public against employment scams online, especially as thousands of Filipino workers have been displaced due to the conflict in the Middle East.

The Department of Migrant Workers on Wednesday warned the public against employment scams online, especially as thousands of Filipino workers have been displaced due to the conflict in the Middle East.

DMW warns vs employment scams as Middle East conflict persists

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DMW warns vs employment scams as Middle East conflict persists

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 06, 2026 03:47 PM PHT

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Department of Migrant Workers

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