Illegal recruiters Ayoneil Travel and Tours, target applicants for jobs in more popular countries

Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac yesterday advised job applicants to be wary of illegal recruiters and scammers who offer employment in countries with publicized job opportunities like Qatar, Japan, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand.

“Filipino workers should not be easily blinded by reported thousands of job vacancies in these developed countries which swindlers exploit to collect enormous fees from their victims,” Cacdac said.

He said most of the reported job vacancies in the said countries are still prospects until concrete job orders from employers reaches the POEA. However, existing job orders are available at poea.gov.ph.

Cacdac said one destination which has become popular to both illegal recruiters and applicants is New Zealand. The country was reported to be in need of construction workers, seasonal fruit pickers, and dairy farm workers.

“Just recently, we have closed down a travel agency for offering visa assistance to applicants wanting to work in a dairy farm in New Zealand,” Cacdac said.

“With the support of the local government of Solano and the Provincial Office of the Department of Labor and Employment, a quick action team led by POEA Anti-Illegal Recruitment Branch padlocked the office of Ayoneil Travel and Tours, located at Aquino National Highway, Poblacion South, Solano, Nueva Vizcaya.

Cacdac said the travel agency even provided its applicants referral letters to an animal farm and training center in Bulacan and charged fees up to Php400,000.00 per victim.

Ayoneil Travel and Tours, which has no license to recruit overseas Filipino workers, is reportedly owned by a couple named Mercy and Bernard Flores - POEA News Release March 13, 2015