Illegal Recruitment: What It Is and the Penalties

The Labor Code defines recruitment and placement broadly. It does not matter whether the recruiter earns money:

For jobs abroad, Section 6 of RA 8042, as rewritten by RA 10022, uses the same list of acts and says it is illegal recruitment "when undertaken by a non-licensee or non-holder of authority". A person without a license who "in any manner, offers or promises for a fee employment abroad to two or more persons shall be deemed so engaged."

The penalties written in Articles 38 and 39 of the Labor Code are not the ones that apply to overseas jobs. The DOLE edition of the Labor Code notes that, after RA 8042, illegal recruitment for overseas employment is penalized under Section 7 of RA 8042 as amended, and Article 39 now covers only local employment.

Yes. Section 6 of RA 8042, as amended, lists acts that are illegal recruitment "whether committed by any person, whether a non-licensee, non-holder, licensee or holder of authority". They include:

• charging or accepting any amount greater than the fees allowed by the Secretary of Labor, or making a worker acknowledge a loan bigger than what he actually received;
• giving or publishing any false notice, information or document about recruitment or employment;
• substituting or changing an approved employment contract to the worker's prejudice without government approval;
• withholding a worker's travel documents before departure for money or other reasons not allowed by law;
• failing to actually deploy a contracted worker without valid reason;
• failing to reimburse the worker's documentation and processing expenses when deployment does not happen through no fault of the worker; and
• allowing a non-Filipino to head or manage a licensed recruitment or manning agency.

In People v. Rios (2020), the Supreme Court said that with RA 8042, illegal recruitment "may be committed even by POEA-licensed recruiters or agencies". In that case, failure to reimburse workers who were not deployed was illegal recruitment.

RA 10022 also lists other prohibited acts for any person or entity, such as lending money to an OFW for placement fees at more than 8% interest a year and making the worker issue postdated checks for the loan, requiring the worker to borrow only from designated lenders, or to use only designated clinics or training centers, and deducting compulsory insurance costs from the worker's salary. These are punished by 6 years and 1 day to 12 years in prison and a fine of ₱500,000 to ₱1,000,000.

Under Section 7 of RA 8042, as amended by RA 10022:

Section 7 adds that "the maximum penalty shall be imposed if the person illegally recruited is less than eighteen (18) years of age or committed by a non-licensee or non-holder of authority." A foreign offender is also deported without further proceedings. A conviction automatically revokes the license or registration of the agency, lending institution, training school or medical clinic involved.

The fines actually imposed vary from case to case. In large-scale cases against non-licensees, the Supreme Court has imposed a ₱5,000,000 fine in People v. Siason (2025) and a ₱2,000,000 fine in People v. Alvarez (2024).

For acts committed before RA 10022, which became law in 2010, the older and lower penalties of the original RA 8042 apply. In People v. Racho (2017), the Court applied the old law because it was "more advantageous to the accused" and the acts happened in 2004 and 2005.

Section 6 of RA 8042, as amended, says illegal recruitment is committed by a syndicate "if carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with one another", and in large scale "if committed against three (3) or more persons individually or as a group". Either way, it is "an offense involving economic sabotage".

In People v. Racho (2017), the Court listed the elements of large-scale illegal recruitment: the offender has no valid license or authority; the offender does any act of recruitment and placement or any prohibited practice; and the offender does it against three or more persons.

Yes. Section 6 says filing an illegal recruitment case is "without prejudice to the filing of cases punishable under other existing laws". The same facts may also support a case for estafa, but each crime must be proven on its own. In People v. Rios (2020), the accused was convicted of illegal recruitment but acquitted of estafa. The Court said a conviction for illegal recruitment "does not automatically result to a conviction for Estafa" and the elements of estafa must still be proven. In People v. Lalli (2011), the accused were convicted of both illegal recruitment and trafficking in persons for one scheme. See Human trafficking: warning signs for OFWs.

• Who. Section 6 says the Secretary of Labor and Employment, the POEA Administrator or their representatives, "or any aggrieved person" may start the criminal action. The Department of Migrant Workers Act (RA 11641) says the Department of Migrant Workers absorbed the powers of the POEA, and tasks it to investigate and help prosecute illegal recruitment cases under RA 8042 as amended.
• Where. Section 9 of RA 8042 says the case is filed with the Regional Trial Court of the province or city where the offense was committed or where the offended party actually lived at the time.
• Until when. Section 12 says illegal recruitment cases prescribe in five years, and those involving economic sabotage prescribe in twenty years.

The Department of Migrant Workers publishes a list of licensed agencies with their license status. Our guide to checking an agency explains how to read it, and the DMW agency list shows the data from that list. The list shows license status only. It does not say whether a particular offer or fee is lawful.

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Rodel posts on Facebook that he can get "factory jobs in Taiwan" for a ₱30,000 processing fee and collects from four people. He has no license. That is promising or advertising jobs abroad by a non-licensee, against three or more persons: large-scale illegal recruitment, an offense involving economic sabotage. The penalty is life imprisonment and a fine of ₱2,000,000 to ₱5,000,000. The case can be filed where the offense happened or where a victim lived at the time, and it prescribes in twenty years.

Liza applies through a licensed agency, pays for her medical exam and documents, and is never deployed, through no fault of her own. The agency refuses to give back her expenses. Failure to reimburse in that situation is one of the acts that is illegal recruitment even for a licensed agency (Section 6(m)).

See also the topic page on OFW legal rights.

Talk to a lawyer if you paid a recruiter and were not deployed, if your fees or contract were not what was promised, or if you want to file a criminal complaint or recover your money. Because the penalties are very heavy, anyone accused of illegal recruitment also needs a lawyer early. For problems after deployment, see OFW illegal dismissal and unexpired contract.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines.