OFW Party-list Rep. Marissa Magsino on Monday, March 31, called for wider information dissemination regarding the Seasonal Workers Program (SWP) in South Korea in a bid to protect overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from falling for fraudulent schemes.

Magsino urged the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and media outlets to spread rightful information about the program to ensure that applicants will undergo the right process and understand their rights as seasonal workers.

SWP is the Korean government's initiative that gives Filipinos an opportunity to work in farms for three to six years based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the two sides.

Magsino's call came after she heard from Filipino community leaders during her townhall meeting in South Korea in 2023 that the rights of some seasonal workers there were violated.

"Marami pa rin sa mga seasonal workers ang hindi alam ang tamang proseso at kanilang karapatan sa ilalim ng bagong DMW guidelines (Many seasonal workers don't know about the right process and their rights under the new DMW guidelines)," she said.

"Dahil dito, nabibiktima sila ng mga broker o ilang kawani ng LGUs na naniningil ng malaking halaga kapalit ng kanilang pag-alis (Because of this, they become victims of brokers or even LGU officials who charge them a lot of money in exchange for the opportunity to work abroad)," she added.

Magsino also noted reports that hundreds of thousands of pesos were being charged to OFWs. Apparently, some of them didn't know about know proper working conditions, something that has led to abuse.

The lawmaker reminded workers to also ensure that their contracts were legitimate by coordinating with DMW.

“Lumapit po kayo sa mga regional offices ng DMW o tumawag sa kanilang mga hotline upang masiguro na hindi kayo naloloko ng mga nag-aalok ng trabaho sa ilalim ng SWP (Go to regional offices of DMW or call them through their hotline to ensure that you will not be deceived)," she said.