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| Tulfo will lead the inquiry into the illegal recruitment cases (File) |
The Senate
committee on migrant workers is set to hold a hearing on “massive illegal
recruitment schemes,” including those allegedly perpetrated by groups
controlled by former Cebu City councilor Prisca Nina Mabatid.
The Senate hearing,
set for 10am on Jan. 30, will be presided over by Committee chair Raffy Tulfo,
along with member Risa Hontiveros. It will be held at the same time as the bill
on OFWs financial literacy enhancement authored by Senator Tulfo.
Among those
invited to give testimony is Joanna Concepcion, chairperson of Migrante
International, who plans to bring along complainants in Hong Kong and the
Philippines against Mabatid and her
company, Opportunities Abroad (OA).
Also expected to
take part are victims of the human trafficking syndicates who were enticed to
go to Thailand for supposedly high-paying jobs, but ended up working as crypto
scammers in Myanmar and other neighboring countries.
About 200
Filipinos, including those working in Hong Kong and other places abroad, as
well as regular jobseekers in several towns across the Philippines, have filed
complaints against Mabatid’s group with the Department of Migrant Workers and
the National Bureau of Investigation starting in June last year.
The new wave of
complaints came after about 20 overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong sought
help from the police and the Philippine Consulate in June last year after paying about Php132,000 each to Mabatid who reportedly convinced them to apply for student visas to Canada.
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| Flyers posted on FB announced the 'orientation'' by Mabatid in HK on 2 days last year |
Despite being
promised in February 2023 that they could acquire the visa in just three
months, the complainants said no one among them managed to get anywhere near being
admitted to a school in Canada, despite completing the long list of
requirements sent to them as a pre-requisite by OA staff.
A number of them
also asked the OA handlers assigned to them via email if they could already
avail of the P1million “show money” promised them by Mabatid to kick-start
their applications, but they were told they needed to provide the “alibi” or
proof showing that the money in the bank was theirs.
Hearing that
Mabatid would return to Hong Kong in June to conduct another “orientation
seminar” for the promised visa scheme, some of the complainants called the
police for help in accosting her at the venue to demand a refund. She promised
to give back their money the following Sunday at the Consulate, but she did not show up.
After they filed complaints, about five OFWs in HK received letters from a lawyer representing OA, threatening them with a lawsuit, saying they signed agreements barring them from seeking a refund for whatever reason.
Hearing about
their complaints, dozens of Filipinos from across the country also came out to
complain against the same group, who also offered help in obtaining student
visas to Canada for no less than P100,000 in processing fees, but were also
left holding an empty bag.
According to the
complainants, a big number of whom were from Cebu and Davao, they were
enticed to sign up for the offer because the recruiters were helped by their
local government units and the PESO (Public Employment Service Office) in their
localities.
DWC OIC Hans J.
Cacdac said as early as August last year during a meeting with Migrante and the
complainants that he had already endorsed the case to the NBI, but no other
developments have been forthcoming.
Separately,
Senator Tulfo held a three-hour online meeting in December with the
complainants and other individuals and groups helping them, and promised a full
Senate inquiry.
He also asked
the Department of Justice to look into the possibility of issuing hold
departure orders against Mabatid and other alleged illegal recruiters so they
could be stopped from recruiting more OFWs.
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