By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Bote's Facebook account which she used to chat with applicants |
Two Filipinas, one a domestic helper who works in Sai Wan Ho and the other, a resident, have been tagged as key players in the recruitment of around 60 Filipinos for non-existent jobs as foreign domestic helpers and gardeners in Hong Kong.
The two have been named in numerous statements executed by alleged victims, believed to have netted the operators at least Php3million (around $500,000) since January this year.
Informed about the complaints, Consul General Raly Tejada immediately pledged to look into the case and confer with relevant authorities like the Hong Kong Police and the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, if necessary.
He is also considering issuing an advisory to warn Filipinos about the illicit operation.
He made his pledge after being told of at least one case
filed by a Filipina DH in
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Vargas said she was lured into the scam by a friend, fellow
Filipina DH named Ruby Ariz Bote (with Facebook name Yhenchen Ruby Zira) who
allegedly promised to work on processing a work visa for her relatives in the
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| Vargas' police statement shows a breakdown of the money she sent to Gregory |
“As I did not have enough money, I asked my relatives in the
Most of the other complainants in the case also have
receipts of remittances to Hong Kong made through
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
According to chat messages sent them by Bote and other
alleged members of the recruitment gang, Gregory is a Hong Kong resident who
lives in
Bote, whose
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| Pindutin para sa detalye |
Two of her fellow recruiters named in most of the complaints
also hail from Mindanao, but in General
Another complainant who named both Bote and Gregory in her statement
to the Consulate lives all the way in Kyrgyztan, although she also used to work
as a FDH in
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Angela Rojas said she sent a total of Php135,000 ($21,000) to Gregory at Bote’s behest. Rojas said she trusted Bote because they were neighbors in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat.
Bote allegedly told Rojas about the supposed “urgent” and
VIP recruitments in Hong Kong, and asked her to advance the placement fees for
two of their friends back in the
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| Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong Dream Love |
Rojas sent the equivalent of Php100,000 to Gregory on Feb 12, and on the next day, instructed her brother-in-law to send another Php35,000 to pay for the processing fee of another applicant.
“Pinamadali kasi kami ni Ruby ng padala dahil lahat daw ng mga post nila na hiring ay may ready job order na,” said Rojas (Ruby told us to send the money quickly because all their hirings already have job orders).
But after sending the money, Rojas said she learned that all the information given them by Bote was false. For one, she said, the applicants were told by staff in the clinic where they were told to go for a medical check-up that they didn’t know any of their recruiters.
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| Some of the applicants were told at this medical clinic that they had no scheduled check-up |
“Lahat ng schedule na binigay nila hindi natuloy. Nag set ulit sila ng medical examination pero hindi natuloy. Nag set din ng training, hindi natuloy. Lahat ito sa loob ng dalawang buwan, samantalang ang sabi nila ay two months lang makakaalis ang mga tao,” said Rojas.
(All the schedules given them did not push through. They set another date for the medical examination, but it didn’t push through again. The same happened for the training they were supposed to get. All of this happened in two months, when they were assured they could leave in two months).
A more graphic statement was made by an applicant who went
through the ordeal of being told to go to
Rogelio Mendoza said he learned about the job offers in
“Tiwala ako dahil
nandyan ang hipag ko sa Hong Kong,” he said (I was confident because my
sister-in-law is in
He said he and his brother-in-law each sent Php50,000 on Jan 23 to Gregory on Bote’s instructions.
On Feb 20, the two were told to go to
The next day, they were told to go to a place in
On Feb 22 they were told to go to a clinic for their medical
check-up but were told that they didn’t have an appointment, and their supposed
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| A Madam Leung is threatening to sue the complainants and The SUN over the expose |
By that time, Bote, Rocacurva and Smith had already blocked him
from their chat group, so in anger,
“Nang ma post ko sila noong May 18, 2021 ay bigla silang naglabasan at panay ang mura nila sa akin. Tapos nangakong ibabalik ang pera ko pero kakasuhan daw ako dahil sa pinost ko. Pinaglalaban pa rin nilang hindi sila manloloko,” he said.
(After I posted about them on May 18, 2021, they all suddenly came out to swear at me. But then they said they would give back my money but threatened to sue me because of my post. They were still insisting that they were not scammers).
He said he wants them held to account still because not only does he have to keep paying 15% interest on the money he borrowed to send to them, he also had to suffer the humiliation of being given the run-around and called names by the illegal recruiters.
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