THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has processed more than 17,000 job orders providing a $500 monthly minimum salary for Filipino domestic workers since it began encouraging foreign employers to voluntarily adopt the higher wage last year.
DMW Secretary Hans J. Cacdac disclosed the figure during the agency’s budget hearing before the House Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday.
‘As of now, we have processed 17,375 job orders with a US$500 salary for domestic workers, and we continue to process these job orders,’ Cacdac said.
The DMW introduced the measure last year through Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 3 after noting that inflation over the past two decades had significantly eroded the real value of the existing mandatory $400 monthly minimum wage for Filipino domestic workers overseas.
Some Middle Eastern countries, however, expressed concern over or rejected the proposed higher minimum wage.
To address these concerns and avoid affecting existing employment contracts, the DMW made adoption of the $500 wage voluntary and offered incentives to employers and recruitment agencies that comply.
‘What we have done is incentivize the process we are going through. So we incentivize those who on their own provided domestic workers with the 500 dollars salaries per month,’ Cacdac said.
The incentives include priority processing for accreditation, registration and reaccreditation, as well as access to a pool of skilled workers to facilitate job matching and recruitment.
Cacdac acknowledged that the Middle East crisis slowed implementation of the initiative as the department shifted resources toward repatriation and assistance for affected overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
‘I admit that our implementation was somewhat delayed due to the crisis in the Middle East; we focused on repatriation efforts and the assistance measures we provide to returning OFWs,’ he said.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are among the leading destinations for Filipino workers.
Aside from encouraging higher wages, the DMW is preparing to implement other provisions of MC 3, including mandatory video interviews between Filipino domestic workers and their prospective employers abroad as an additional protection measure.
‘So in this last quarter of 2026 we are braced to fully implement this video interview system,’ Cacdac said.
The DMW is also expanding upskilling programs to help domestic workers qualify for higher-paying occupations, including caregiving and jobs in the hotel and restaurant industries.
‘There is nothing wrong in becoming a domestic worker, but we want them not to be caught in a recruitment trap of being offered just domestic work,’ Cacdac said.
Latest DMW deployment data showed that domestic cleaners and helpers accounted for 22,215 of the 73,645 newly hired OFWs deployed as of June, followed by domestic housekeepers at 12,407.