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| The Small Claims Tribunal is in this building |
The hearings are slated to begin on Aug. 29 and will last until the third week of September.
Consul General Bernardita Catalla has assured the claimants of help since most of them are unable to attend the weekday hearings.
Officials from both the Consulate and the Hong Kong Labour Department have encouraged the workers to file claims with the tribunal for faster disposition.
The claimants are among the more than 200 Filipinos who have sought help from Philippine and Hong Kong authorities, claiming to have been duped into paying for the fictitious jobs.
All the complainants named Ylagan, using her solely-owned company, Mike’s Secretarial Services, which used to have a shop on the third floor of World WidePlaza in Central, as the one who briefed them about the jobs supposedly on offer.
During the briefing, Ylagan reportedly introduced herself as the “boss” of Mike’s and Emry’s Service Staff Employment Agency, which had an adjacent office. She reportedly told the applicants she would not risk the solid reputation built by Emry’s in its 30 years of experience in the recruitment business, by offering them spurious jobs.
Latest records obtained from the Inland Revenue Department, however, show that Ylagan has been replaced as co-owner of Emry’s by her son, Ridge Michael Ylagan, as of July 15 this year, two days after its Central office was shut. Ricardo Ylagan is the other co-owner.
Mike’s records show on the other hand, that “international recruitment” was added to its nature of business as of June 17 this year. Before this, its business activities were limited to “typing, xeroxing and internet surfing”.
Both companies appear in the latest list of employment agencies licensed by the Employment Agencies Administration of the HK Labour Department.
Ylagan allegedly collected $10,000 from those applying for the jobs in Britain, and $15,000 for those bound for Canada. Most paid the total amount in cash, while a few asked to pay by installment. At least two of the claimants said they paid for themselves and another person, thus the claim for $20,000 each.
No receipts were issued to the applicants by Ylagan, who allegedly said she did not want to be taxed by the Hong Kong government. She said the money she collected would be sent to her partner in London for their FICC or foreign immigrant clearance certificate. However, Ylagan reportedly made them fill up “bio-data” sheets and recorded their payments on slips of paper. Some of these documents have apparently been retrieved by EAA officers, who have given copies to the concerned applicants.
The applicants started asking for their money back when the “job order” reportedly promised by Ylagan did not come as expected in June.
About a dozen applicants reportedly managed to get a refund from Ylagan in early June, after complaining to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and the Mission for Migrant Workers.
In an interview with The SUN, Ylagan said she would return the applicants’ money, although she had already sent them all to her London partner she named as William Clinton James or William Clinton Erich. She said she had never met the man, and had communicated with him only via email.
But a few weeks later, she filed a complaint with the Central Police station, claiming a business partner had duped her out of $4.2 million. The police say they are still investigating the case.
Meanwhile, both the Consulate and the EAA have continued their separate investigations into the allegations.
EAA officers have called about a dozen applicants for interviews on various dates, and have reportedly asked them to act as witnesses in the case that would be filed against Ylagan and Emry’s.
Ylagan was also reportedly asked to appear for an interview, but she sent a solicitor in her stead.
The Consulate’s assistance to nationals section, on the other hand, says it continues to receive signed complaints from Ylagan’s recruits, some of whom have decided to return to the Philippines after being reportedly told they could return to Hong Kong as tourists and fly out to their destination with the others.
The developments came as solicitors acting for Emry’s and its “co-owners” Rick Ylagan and Ester Ylagan sent a “cease and desist” letter to Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre, The SUN publisher Leo Deocadiz and this author, in relation to the jobs scandal.
In the letter dated August 8, 2016, Wong & Co. Solicitors demanded that all three “cease and desist all defamation of character and reputation of Emry’s, Rick and Ester”.
The demand stemmed from Labatt de la Torre’s act of suspending the processing of work contracts by Emry’s due to Ester’s alleged violation of Philippine laws against third-country deployment by recruiting Filipinos for jobs in Britain and Canada.
The SUN, its editor and publisher were accused of acting with malice in reporting about the complaints against Ylagan and of conspiring with Labatt de la Torre in making defamatory statements against her, Rick and Emry’s.
Asked for a reaction to the solicitors’ letter, Labatt de la Torre told The SUN: “I will not be deterred by a letter from a solicitor in pursuing what I think is necessary to advance and protect the interests of OFWs in Hong Kong”.
The SUN’s own stance is clearly reflected in this article.
