THE DEPARTMENT of Migrant Workers (DMW) is pushing to establish standard protections and address long-standing recruitment issues migrant workers face
At a press conference during the 2nd Mindanao Summit on Migration, Environment, Peace and Development, DMW Assistant Secretary Jerome Alcantara said the agency’s advocacy is for the adoption of the ASEAN Declaration on Fair, Ethical, and Sustainable Recruitment for Empowered Workers.
The proposed measure aims to align laws across ASEAN member states by requiring transparency in recruitment and establishing uniform policies on recruitment fees.
According to Alcantara, the lack of uniform standards among ASEAN nations has left workers vulnerable to exploitation and debt bondage.
Alcantara reported that under current conditions, a Filipino worker may be protected from paying placement fees domestically, but faces heavy charges upon arriving in a host country.
“Ang ending, pagdating nung worker doon, may utang na agad siya. Mahirap magsimula ng may utang ka na pupunta ka sa, pwede ka pa magpunta sa isang debt bondage situation,” he said.
He stressed that the declaration seeks to clearly define costs that must be covered by employers rather than the workers, such as round-trip airfare, local transportation to work sites, accommodation, and food allowances.
“We want to establish a benchmark and standards for across the whole ASEAN member states,” he stressed.
He noted that there should be fair treatment of recruitment fees and other related costs consistently applied across all member states.
Alcantara said the declaration is currently undergoing final technical reviews and is expected to be signed and formally adopted during upcoming ASEAN high-level meetings between October and November.
To monitor the compliance of member states, the framework will utilize an established ASEAN checklist for fair and ethical recruitment to benchmark regulations for member countries, employers, and recruitment agencies.
Furthermore, the initiative is integrated into the action plan of the ASEAN Committee on Migrant Workers (ACMW), backing the declaration with baseline data and a structured implementation plan.
“It is a statement of the ASEAN family of member states that we all share the same dedication, commitment, and passion in taking care of migrant workers,” the official added.
During the summit, Alcantara reported the country has deployed 2.74 million overseas Filipino workers in 2025, the highest on record, surpassing pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
