The SUN HK : Canada recruiters no-show, DMW takes over

By The SUN

ALA Tony and Consul Paul wait with complainants for the recruiters' group to show up

The Department of Migrant Workers has started looking into the complaint of a group of Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong who claimed to have been duped by a group of tourists from the Philippines who offered to help them secure study visas in Canada.

The FDWs went to the Philippine Consulate on Sunday morning, hoping to get back the $18,700 (Php131,000) they each paid to the Opportunities Abroad team after an orientation seminar at Sunbeam Theatre in North Point on Feb 19 this year, but left empty-handed.

This was despite a promise made to Hong Kong Police on June 18 by Prisca Nina Mabatid, introduced during the seminar as the Chief Executive Officer of PCVC(PinoyCare Visa Center)-Opportunities Abroad, that she would go to the PCG to return the “processing fee” collected from the complainants.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE!

After waiting for more than two hours for Mabatid or any of her officers to show up, the complainants, assisted by Mission for Migrant Workers case officer Edwina Antonio, called the police to report that the promised refund did not materialize.

The Police had given specific instructions to the group after they personally filed a complaint at the North Point Police Station on June 22, to call them if Mabatid would renege on her promise so they could forward the case to the Immigration Department.

The case began on June 18, when the complainants called the police to Sunbeam Theater. after hearing that Mabatid was back in town for another seminar. They demanded a refund, and asserted that Mabatid and her team should not be doing any work or business during their visit in Hong Kong as that violated their visa conditions.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

To avoid being taken to the police station, Mabatid readily promised the complainants she would give back their money, but at a later date, saying she needed to check their records first.

After some discussions as to the date and venue of the refund, the two sides agreed to meet at the Consulate on Sunday, June 25.

Mabatid (in white), shown here with complainants,
claims her pledge to refund was made under duress

Apart from Mabatid, named as repondents in the complaint that the FDWs filed with the Hong Kong Police, Immigration and Labour Departments as well as the Philippine Consulate General, were her partner, lawyer Russ Mark Gamallo; two unnamed female staff of PCVC-OA who collected their money, and FDW-driver Bryan A. Calagui, who acted as the recruiters’ representative in Hong Kong.

The complainants said they did not know each other initially, but all of them learned about the recruitment seminars of PCVC-OA from the Facebook posts and blogs of Calagui, whom they followed regularly because of his political leanings.

Gamallo, on the other hand, acted with Mabatid as the main presentors at the recruitment seminars, during which they encouraged all the OFWs to apply for student visas to Canada and not worry about the requirements as they would be the ones to take care of them.

Gamallo and Mabatid are partners in the business they call 'Oppo'

During the Feb 19 recruitment drive which was recorded on video, the two also told the audience that Mabatid would deposit a Php1 million “loan” to each applicant's bank account to fulfill the Canadian government’s requirement that they must have enough funds to pay for their studies and expenses for at least a year.

But after being given the long list of the documents they needed to start their visa application, some immediately backed down, saying they should have been told all these before making them pay as there was no way they could comply with the requirements.

One balked in particular when told she needed to give an alibi or reason as to why she came to have Php1million in the bank, saying she did not want to tell a lie just to get the visa.

EXTENDED TO JUNE 30!!

Another recalled being told by an “analyst” at PCVC-OA that she could say it was from a property sale, and to just get someone to sign on a fake sales contract.

The others quit when told that the Php1 million “loan” from Mabatid could only be used to convince Canada’s immigration office that they have the means to support their study and stay in the country, and could not be spent for their needs.

The OFWs' complaint also named this woman who collected their money

At the Consulate, the eight original complainants were joined by three others who also paid the visa processing fee to PCVC-OA. One also coughed up about $18,700 while the two others each paid the reservation fee of $3,000, and had planned to pay the balance on June 18.

Presiding over the meeting were Consul Paulo Saret, head of the Consulate’s Assistance to Nationals Section; and Assistant Labor Attache Antonio Villafuerte of the Office of Migrant Workers, on the instruction of Consul General Raly Tejada who earlier said they had no objection to the Consulate being used as venue for the promised refund.

Consul Saret told the claimants that DMW Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople had taken notice of the case even before the meeting, and had personally asked the Consulate to look into it.

BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS NOW! PRESS FOR DETAILS

He promised the FDWs that their complaints would be given due attention, and that reports on the outcome of the meeting would be relayed immediately to both the DMW and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Saret also took the time to tell the complainants that they need not worry about being taken to court on the basis of the MOA they were made to sign, which stipulated that they could not sue or demand a refund of their money from the respondents. Since they said the documents were notarized in their absence in Cebu, they should not be legally binding.

No agreement that prevents someone from taking action on an illegal act could also be held legal or enforceable.

There is also the question of whether PCVC-OA could validly entice OFWs to move to another country, even on student visa, more so because it is not accredited with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

The huge crowd at Sunbeam in February were told they will each be lent P1M at no interest

Antonio said she was glad the DMW had taken the initiative to investigate the case, and appreciated that the ATN and MWO had spent ample time listening to the complainants’ grievances.

But she urged quick, top-level action on the matter, saying the complainants fear for their safety after being warned by Mabatid on June 18 that she would take action against them for calling the police and ruining her business and reputation.

They also want their money back All except one of them had taken out a loan to pay the costly processing fee which is four times their monthly salary

Further fueling their fear was the recruiters’ claim that they are backed by important personalities like former President Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Raffy Tulfo, actor and business magnate Willie Revillame and showbiz personality Boy Abunda.

BASAHIN DITO

In the days before, and even during the Sunday meeting at the Consulate, the OFWs also began receiving calls from people connected with the recruiters, when they had all been ignored since March, when they started asking for refunds.

Most of the complainants ignored the calls, but one did pick up on seeing that it came from a number listed in Mabatid’s name. But to her dismay, a different woman spoke on the other line, and said Mabatid would not show up on her lawyers’ advice, as the promise she had given before the police was made “under duress.”

The woman the complainant recognized as the staff who collected their money, identified herself as Al Lagradilla. She said that while the complainants have the right to go after their company, they will have to file suit in Mabatid’s hometown of Cebu, as that was where their MOA or undertaking was notarized.

Further, she said Mabatid’s lawyers were already preparing to file charges against The SUN and its editor, Daisy Mandap, for supposedly spreading false information and ruining their business.

This was the same claim made by Gamallo in a Facebook message sent to Mandap, but said this could still be averted if The SUN took down its story on the June 18 incident. In exchange, he said Calagui would also delete his post where he and Mabatid ranted against Mandap and The SUN.

Mandap told him they should just comply with their promise to go to the Consulate and return the complainants’ money, then blocked his account.