Two overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were deployed to South Korea under the Pilot Foreign Caregiver government-to-government hiring program have been arrested after failing to return to work following a holiday break, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac confirmed the arrest of the two caregivers, who were part of the first batch of 100 deployed to South Korea in August. “Last October 4, they were found by the Special Investigation Team of Korean Immigration and they were arrested in Busan and are now being investigated,” Cacdac said during a press briefing on Monday.
The two caregivers had left their quarters on September 15 during South Korea’s Chuseok holiday but did not return to work after the break ended on September 18.
Cacdac assured that the Philippine government is providing legal assistance to the two OFWs. “We are ensuring that they are properly advised by legal counsel and are not under duress during the investigation,” he said. He also reminded OFWs of their responsibility to honor their contracts and not to violate immigration laws unless there are cases of abuse.
Despite the incident, Cacdac remains optimistic about the bilateral labor relationship between South Korea and the Philippines, describing it as “equipped to handle such challenges.” He emphasized that both countries view the case as an isolated incident and do not expect it to affect the overall pilot program.
