My father-in-law explained that he never appeared before a judge. Instead, his employer’s operation was raided, their property was seized, and the workers were collectively sent back to Philippines. Based on this, we believe it may be considered a deportation. Unfortunately, from my research, situations like this are not uncommon. Many migrant workers in parts of Asia and the Middle East face similar circumstances, where fraudulent or bribed paperwork produced by the employer is used for visa sponsorship and the workers are unaware of these issues until they face serious consequences.
PS: Not defending the practice, but merely acknowledging the unfortunate circumstance and curious if anyone has any similar experiences with officers understanding/overlooking it