MIGRANT WATCH

Illegal Recruiter Dupes 40 Victims in Pangasinan

Illegal recruitment continues to haunt Filipinos seeking jobs abroad. Recently, 40 of them from Pangasinan found themselves hoodwinked by an illegal recruiter, each losing up to P100,000 in placement fees that never gave them jobs.

BY BENJIE OLIVEROS
Bulatlat.com

“May nahimatay pa nga (Some of us even fainted) when we found out we were fooled.  We felt so frustrated and our families were all upset because we only borrowed the money for our placement fees,” explained Olympia Tigno, a former Filipino factory worker in Taiwan. 

Olympia and 15 other victims of illegal recruitment trooped to the office of the Migrante International, a militant organization of overseas Filipino workers, in Quezon City April 19 after being deceived and fleeced by illegal recruiters of their hard-earned money amounting to PhP10,000 to more than PhP100,000 each. 

According to the group, there were about 40 of them from Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan who were duped by the same illegal recruiters with promises of jobs as factory workers in South Korea at first and then Taiwan. 

The victims said a certain Leo Esteban promised to help them get jobs in South Korea.  When this did not materialize, Esteban referred them to Joselyn Manaog who, in turn, assured them of jobs as factory workers in Taiwan.   

The victims paid Leo Esteban between P10,000 to P40,000 as placement fee for Korea.  Joselyn Manaog charged at least seven of them, PhP100,000 each as placement fee for jobs in Taiwan.

“This is in addition to the P5,000 we paid for our medical tests and the fees for birth certificates, marriage certificates and other documents,” explained Fernando Flores, also a former factory worker in Taiwan.

Rising unemployment, worsening poverty

Connie Bragas-Regalado, Migrante Sectoral Party chairperson and first nominee, said Fernando and Olympia’s stories are mirrored in the lives of many Filipinos who aspire to work abroad to earn a decent income.  “Even if they had already worked overseas, chronic poverty and rising unemployment in the Philippines force them to grab whatever offer they get to work abroad again,” she said.

According to Bragas-Regalado, the 12.2 percent unemployment rate in the country is the highest ever.  The poverty incidence, estimated at 88 percent by independent sources, is continuously worsening.

“Instead of ensuring there are viable jobs in the Philippines, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is bent on exporting workers overseas.  As a result, many unscrupulous recruiters capitalize on the situation by preying on Filipinos who are forced to look abroad for work,” said Bragas-Regalado.

“In this light, it’s not enough to just go after the illegal recruiter.  We must address the basic problems of unemployment and poverty.  More so, given that we’re in the midst of a national election, we need a new President who is committed to creating viable jobs for Filipinos in the Philippines,” concluded Bragas-Regalado. Bulatlat.com

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