The SUN HK : OFWs in student visa ‘scam’ ask DMW for urgent help

DMW OIC Cacdac met with complainants in the Philippines and HK on Aug 4

Fourteen overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong have urged the Department of Migrant Workers to speed up its investigation into a group that allegedly collected almost P2million from them but failed to deliver the student visa to Canada promised them in February this year.

The 14 complainants also asked for immediate intervention, saying that three of them were sent letters to their Philippine addresses by a lawyer for Opportunities Abroad Visa Processing Services, warning them of an alleged breach of an agreement they signed when they applied for the student visa.

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In the letter, lawyer Taunino Jillandro G. Neri, said that the complainants had breached the agreement when they demanded a refund of the $18,731 (Php132,000) that they each paid to Opportunities Abroad.

Further, he said that a clause in the MOA provided that they could be made to pay Php500,000 each for breaching the contract, apart from “actual damages” to the company.

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He gave the recipients five days to respond and “settle the breach amicably,” or face legal action.

But according to all 14 applicants, the agreement being referred to in the letter was given to them after they paid the processing fee in full so they were left with no choice but to sign it. Its contents were not fully explained to them, nor were they given a copy of the document.

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In addition, several of them managed to take pictures of the documents they were made to sign then, and they said nowhere in any of those pieces of paper was there a mention of the Php500,000 penalty that the lawyer had mentioned in his letter.

They attached copies of the lawyer’s demand letter and screen shots of the document they signed in the emailed appeal they sent to Undersecretary and now DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo J. Cacdac on Sept. 3.

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In any case, they said an agreement that forbids them from seeking a refund or redress for the fraud committed against them was morally wrong and unjust, and should be deemed illegal.

In their letter, the complainants said they feared for their and their family's safety, as they know the founder of Opportunities Abroad, former Cebu City Councillor Prisca Nina Mabatid is well-connected, rich and powerful.

They also said they do not have the means to defend themselves if the company makes good on its threat to sue them if they persist with their claim. The OFWs said in their initial complaint that they had to take out loans to pay Opportunities Abroad between February 19 and 25 this year.

DMW lawyers spoke with OFW complainants in HK on Aug 13

Apart from seeking protection, the OFWs also want an update on the DMW’s investigation into their complaint which they filed on June 28, and resulted in the late DMW Secretary Susan Ople sending an investigation team to Hong Kong in mid-August.

The complainants recalled that the DMW lawyers who came to interview them and collect their evidence on August 13 said that they were told to submit a report on their findings within two weeks.

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The OFWs wanted to know if a report had already been submitted, and what action the DMW intended to make regarding their complaints.

Three more Filipino migrant workers filed complaints with the Migrant Workers Office since, and each submitted copies of the receipts for the total of $18,700 that they paid to Opportunities Abroad.

The last to step out claimed that after completing the long list of requirements set out by the recruiters, she was told that she had missed both the September 2023 and January 2024 intakes, even if she had forwarded all her documents in June.

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The recruiters also allegedly said her application was not transferrable, contrary to what she was told at the beginning.

All the complainants want DMW to hold Opportunities Abroad and its officers led by Mabatid and her partner, lawyer Russ Mark Gamallo, accountable for illegal recruitment or human trafficking, and possibly estafa.

They also want sanctions imposed on their fellow OFW, Bryan A. Calagui for promoting and allegedly taking an active part in the recruitment activities of Mabatid and her team.