POEA to sue agency of OFW mistaken for fugitive

It’s one ordeal after another for the overseas Filipino worker who fell victim to a case of mistaken identity. Officials of the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency are set to investigate the recruitment agency of Jason Aguilar, the overseas Filipino worker mistaken for the road rage murder suspect, for alleged anomalies in his employment. Aguilar, a welder in Qatar, was detained for seven days and deported on January 7 after authorities mistook him for Jason Aguilar Ivler, the subject of a global manhunt for killing the son of a Palace official in a road-rage shooting. [See: Gov't blunder shatters dreams of OFW mistaken for a fugitive] Aguilar went to Qatar on November 18, 2009, the day Renato Ebarle Jr., son of Presidential Chief of Staff Undersecretary Renato Ebarle Sr., was shot. He was arrested on December 31, 2009, after Qatar authorities thought he was the same Jason Aguilar Ivler on the International Police watchlist. This time around, Aguilar is facing a different set of complications. He met with POEA officials last Tuesday, January 12, 2010, to discuss possible legal actions against recruitment agency Multisystem Conexions Intl. Inc. (MCII) for alleged excessive payments Aguilar was asked for in connection with his deployment to Qatar. In reports, Aguilar was allegedly charged by the agency P9,500 instead of just P5,000 for the processing fees. He was also supposed to give the agency P25,000 every month for four months to be taken from his salary, even as he was only supposed to get a salary of P15,000. MCII, however, refused to comment when reached by phone, saying the officer in charge of Aguilar's case was unavailable. Aguilar has yet to decide if he would purse the case against his recruitment agency. Earlier, he declined to file complaints against pertinent agencies for his undue deportation. From POEA, Aguilar met with Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) administrator Carmelita Dimzon who assured him of assistance to get over his "traumatic" experience. According to Dimzon, Aguilar and his family, particularly his mother who seemed most affected, will undergo psycho-social counseling either at their home in Calumpit, Bulacan or at the OWWA shelter house in Pasay City. Dimzon also said that as a member of OWWA, Aguilar will receive help from the agency should he decide to put up his own welding shop. Aguilar earlier said he does not want to go back to working abroad after his experience. Aguilar also dropped by the Department of Justice to make sure that his name has been cleared. - FI, GMANews.TV