Anti-illegal recruiter agents nab 3 people for duping aspiring OFWs
KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMANews.TV
08/24/2009 | 05:00 PM
Authorities had arrested three women for allegedly duping aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFW).
Vice President Noli de Castro, who heads the Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment (Tfair), identified the suspects as Roselyn A. Lopez, Agnes A. Haduca, and Luz Alipio Carthy.
“The arrests are part of the government's intensified campaign against illegal recruitment," said De Castro, who is also the presidential adviser on OFWs.
He said Tfair agents nabbed Lopez last August 18 at the Farmers Plaza in Cubao in Quezon City where she was about to collect payment from her four victims.
The task force’s investigation showed that the suspect recruited the four through a direct hiring scheme to work in Cyprus as domestic helpers with salaries of P25,000 each per month.
De Castro alleged that Lopez told the victims they could be “deployed" if they shell out P150,000 each for “processing fee" and an additional P5,000 for “escort service fee" when they are already at the airport.
Also on August 18, Tfair’s agents, together with representatives of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), arrested Haduca in a coffee shop at the Mall of Asia in Manila. The arrest stemmed from a complaint by seven nurses alleging that Haduca promised them non-existent jobs in New Zealand with a monthly salary of P160,000.
Complainants Jenny Casulla Gutierez, Allan Jay Lucero Reyes, Katherine Castillo Jallores, Genasky Rocha Maya, Monsher Malogka Suraik, Leo Tombo Hernandez and Leopoldo Villanueva Gabrador said the suspect had collected P60,000 from each of them, but the promised work never materialized.
Another suspect, Carthy, had been arrested in Meycauayan, Bulacan by local officials, who later turned her over to the Tfair. Carthy had likewise promised her 10 victims jobs in France as factory workers and housekeepers with salary of P120,000 every month.
After collecting P20,000 from each of her 10 victims, Carthy failed to deliver on her promise and the victims tracked her down in Bulacan.
All the three suspects are currently in the hands of the Tfair in Camp Crame, Quezon City, said De Castro. They will be charged with illegal recruitment which prohibits them from posting bail.
De Castro had earlier directed the task force to go after big-time illegal recruiters with pending warrants of arrest.
Senior Superintendent Gilbert Sosa, Tfair operations chief, said at least 276 Filipino individuals are facing more than 20,000 unserved warrants of arrest for large-scale illegal recruitment. At least 68 of the suspects have more than 10 warrants of arrest each.
But Col. Bernie Yang of the Tfair had earlier told GMANews.TV in a phone interview that they have already narrowed down the number of unserved warrants after some successful entrapment operations.
He also said that they would soon be coming out with posters of the top 50 illegal recruiters in the country to reveal their names and pictures to the public.
Based on statistics supplied by Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services, there were 1,662 confirmed victims of illegal recruitment from January to November 2008, an increase of 4 percent during the same period in 2007. - GMANews.TV
Vice President Noli de Castro, who heads the Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment (Tfair), identified the suspects as Roselyn A. Lopez, Agnes A. Haduca, and Luz Alipio Carthy.
“The arrests are part of the government's intensified campaign against illegal recruitment," said De Castro, who is also the presidential adviser on OFWs.
He said Tfair agents nabbed Lopez last August 18 at the Farmers Plaza in Cubao in Quezon City where she was about to collect payment from her four victims.
The task force’s investigation showed that the suspect recruited the four through a direct hiring scheme to work in Cyprus as domestic helpers with salaries of P25,000 each per month.
De Castro alleged that Lopez told the victims they could be “deployed" if they shell out P150,000 each for “processing fee" and an additional P5,000 for “escort service fee" when they are already at the airport.
Also on August 18, Tfair’s agents, together with representatives of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), arrested Haduca in a coffee shop at the Mall of Asia in Manila. The arrest stemmed from a complaint by seven nurses alleging that Haduca promised them non-existent jobs in New Zealand with a monthly salary of P160,000.
Complainants Jenny Casulla Gutierez, Allan Jay Lucero Reyes, Katherine Castillo Jallores, Genasky Rocha Maya, Monsher Malogka Suraik, Leo Tombo Hernandez and Leopoldo Villanueva Gabrador said the suspect had collected P60,000 from each of them, but the promised work never materialized.
Another suspect, Carthy, had been arrested in Meycauayan, Bulacan by local officials, who later turned her over to the Tfair. Carthy had likewise promised her 10 victims jobs in France as factory workers and housekeepers with salary of P120,000 every month.
After collecting P20,000 from each of her 10 victims, Carthy failed to deliver on her promise and the victims tracked her down in Bulacan.
All the three suspects are currently in the hands of the Tfair in Camp Crame, Quezon City, said De Castro. They will be charged with illegal recruitment which prohibits them from posting bail.
De Castro had earlier directed the task force to go after big-time illegal recruiters with pending warrants of arrest.
Senior Superintendent Gilbert Sosa, Tfair operations chief, said at least 276 Filipino individuals are facing more than 20,000 unserved warrants of arrest for large-scale illegal recruitment. At least 68 of the suspects have more than 10 warrants of arrest each.
But Col. Bernie Yang of the Tfair had earlier told GMANews.TV in a phone interview that they have already narrowed down the number of unserved warrants after some successful entrapment operations.
He also said that they would soon be coming out with posters of the top 50 illegal recruiters in the country to reveal their names and pictures to the public.
Based on statistics supplied by Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services, there were 1,662 confirmed victims of illegal recruitment from January to November 2008, an increase of 4 percent during the same period in 2007. - GMANews.TV
