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| Poster in an office used by Ylagan in Worldwide Plaza. |
At least 13 Filipino domestic workers who each lost between $6,000 to $15,000 in a jobs scam to Britain and Canada have won the cases they filed against their recruiter in less than two weeks of hearings at the Small Claims Tribunal.
Named defendant in the claims, as well as in dozens others which have yet to be heard, is Ester P. Ylagan, trading by her solely owned company, Mike’s Secretarial Services.
Ylagan also used to be co-owner of Emry’s Service Staff Employment Agency, the biggest recruiter of Filipino domestic workers into Hong Kong, but she has been replaced since July 17 by her son, Ridge Michael Ylagan. The co-owner is her husband, Rick Ylagan.
Those who won their cases were Ronia Maria Benalio, Be-ann Barranco, Richiebelle Aballe, Lumen Llagas, Mary Ann Cacho, M. J. Alejaga, Elmie Peralta, Jonah Francisco, Jocely Yacas, Ruby Respicio and Rogielyn Malicse, who each was awarded a claim of $10,000 plus interest and costs.
One claimant, Juany Tecson, won back her $15,000 while another, Remia Curiel, was awarded her claim of $6,000. Both were awarded interest and costs.
At least two claimants failed to pursue their case through a representative because the Tribunal required them to have a Hong Kong address. A few others were dismissed because of the claimant’s failure to appear in court, while several others were postponed, mainly for consolidation.
The claims that have yet to be settled include those paid by those who applied for relatives back in the Philippines or Macau. Several claimants said they paid $20,000 for themselves and a relative or boyfriend, while at least one is claiming $50,000 which she said she paid for herself and four relatives in the Philippines.
All claimants say Ylagan collected the money directly from them, supposedly in payment for the “foreign immigrant clearance certificate” (FICC) they needed to secure the promised jobs.
The applicants say they found out later that no such document was required for job applicants in either Britain or Canada.
But they had difficulty pursuing a case because Ylagan did not issue any receipt or contract, reportedly saying she did not want to be taxed by the Hong Kong government.
In court, Ylagan’s representatives at first denied liability.
A solicitor she sent on the first day of the hearing of claims on Aug. 29 said the defendant would not pay any of the claimants because she herself was scammed.
Later, another court representative who said she used to work at Emry’s said she had instructions that the defendant was willing to pay if claimant could show a “receipt or contract”.
The courts invariably rejected this defense, and in most cases, the representative was not allowed to speak for the defendants, and default judgments were handed down for the claimants.
Around 500 Filipinos in Hong Kong, Macau and the Philippines are believed to have been victimized in what appears to be the biggest recruitment scandal to have hit Hong Kong.
More than 200 of them have already filed complaints with the Philippine Consulate, but more have been showing up in recent days, finally convinced that the jobs promised them did not really exist.
The complaints have been forwarded to the Hong Kong Labour Department, which began interviewing the applicants in July. The investigation is ongoing.
The Consulate, through Vice Consul Alex Vallespin, has also sought help from the Hong Kong Police, but no investigation has been commenced.
However, the police accepted a complaint for deception that Ylagan had filed in July against an unknown business partner, who allegedly cheated her out of $4.2 million.
In a previous interview with The SUN, Ylagan, a 30-year veteran of the recruitment industry, had named the London-based business partner as “William Clinton James” or “William Clinton Erich”.
She said she never met or seen the man, and communicated with him only via email.
