THE Federation of Free Workers (FFW) has expressed alarm over an increasingly disturbing trend luring Filipinos abroad not just for legitimate work, but into war zones, trafficking rings, scam hubs and other high risk, exploitative operations.
The FFW sounded the alarm on Sunday, citing mounting reports of Filipinos being recruited to work in war-torn Ukraine and in extremist-linked activities in the Middle East, alongside the continued proliferation of online scam hubs across parts of Asia.
In February 2026, the Department of Foreign Affairs issued a warning about deceptive overseas job offers — many of which mask recruitment into foreign military service or illicit enterprises.
FFW president Sonny Matula said that these schemes are not only dangerous but also illegal, saying that under Article 34(f) of the Labor Code, recruitment into work that endangers health, morality, or national dignity is expressly prohibited.
He said that such acts, when carried out by unlicensed recruiters, constitute outright illegal recruitment, a criminal offense that continues to prey on vulnerable Filipinos.
Beyond illegal recruitment, FFW emphasized that the matter has also become a human trafficking crisis.
“In times of crisis — especially with the ripple effects of the Middle East conflict — desperation deepens,” FFW said. “And when survival is at stake, even the dirtiest, most dangerous and most degrading jobs can look like salvation. Hunger has a way of disguising traps as tickets out.” The labor group argued that enforcement alone will not solve the problem. As long as poverty wages persist at home, illegal recruiters will continue to find willing victims.
“This is why, this Labor Day, we are once again pushing — firmly and urgently — for a living wage,” FFW said. “We call for a P200 nationwide daily wage increase and the nationalization of wage standards so that workers in rural areas, the provinces, and even in BARMM are no longer condemned to survive on crumbs.”
FFW emphasized that the uneven wage structure across regions fuels migration driven not by opportunity, but by desperation. “When wages are too low to live on, people will take risks — any risks — just to get by. That includes walking straight into exploitation.” The group challenged the government to confront the root causes head-on — low wages, lack of quality jobs, weak rural development and systemic inequality.
“If the government truly wants to protect Filipino workers, it must do more than warn them — it must give them real reasons to stay,” FFW said. “That means raising wages, creating secure and decent jobs, investing in the countryside and ensuring that economic growth reaches the most neglected communities.”
FFW also pointed to the need for stronger anti-corruption measures and sustained investment in agro-industrialization and agricultural modernization, anchored on social justice, to generate stable livelihoods outside urban centers.
“Filipino workers should be deployed into dignified, productive employment — not into war zones, trafficking pipelines or scam compounds,” the group stressed. “The real antidote to dangerous recruitment is not just prosecution. It is a just economy — one that pays workers fairly, protects their rights and removes the desperation that makes exploitation possible.”