De Castro warns aspiring OFWs of recruiters offering direct hiring
MANILA, Philippines - Aspiring overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Rodel thought that paying P120,000 to a recruiter offering direct hiring is a surefire way to be deployed abroad. He couldn't have been more wrong.
Rodel was one of the three Filipinos recently rescued from illegal recruiters by the Task Force against Illegal Recruiters headed by Vice President Noli de Castro.
As such, De Castro on Saturday warned aspiring OFWs through his radio program not to believe in recruiters offering direct hiring.
"’Wag kayo maniniwala sa direct hiring, kailangan dumaan pa rin sa Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) para ma-check ninyo. Walang mag direct-direct hiring, kalokohan ‘yun (Don't believe in direct hiring, you still need to pass through the POEA so that you can check. There's no direct hiring, that's not true)," he said.
The task force reportedly conducted an entrapment operation on Friday at the Diosdado Macapagal Airport in Clark, Pampanga to catch the illegal recruiters known as Cristina Delos Santos and Flor Corpuz Jinez, both residents of Pangasinan.
"Ang sabi nila direct hiring sila at may contact sila sa Dubai and then marami na rin daw silang napaalis (They said they hire directly and that they have a contact in Dubai and they have already deployed many workers abroad)," a task force personnel reported in De Castro’s program.
Based on the statements of the victims, the unscrupulous recruiters asked different amounts from the OFW hopefuls, ranging from P10,000 to P120,000, depending on the job applied for.
Rodel said that he got that money from his sister who is currently residing in the United States, with the hope that he would be able to work in a hotel overseas with a promised pay of P25,000 a month.
"Sabi daw niya aalis ako. "Di (ko) naman (naisip na niloloko na ako) (The recruiter said that I would be able to go abroad. I didn't think he was fooling me)," he told De Castro during the radio show.
He said it only dawned on him that the recruiter was not telling them the truth when he found out that he was given a fake visa.
A companion of Rodel said he refused to pay the P50,000 that was being asked from him until Rodel got to leave the country.
"Ang hinihingi niya po sa akin P50,000 kasama na ho lahat-lahat yun. Ang sabi ko sa kanya, kailangan muna mauna siya umalis (ung isa) (They were asking P50,000 for everything. I told them that Rodel should be able to leave first)," he said during the radio program.
After that, he questioned why the recruiters had them go back and forth from the airport, knowing that Rodel was given just a photocopied visa.
"(Pero) pinagbigyan pa namin siya ng isang pagkakataon, sabi niya bukas darating yung original, alam ninyo naman palang hindi pwede xerox copy, bakit pa kami pinapunta dito? (But we gave them another chance, they said that the original document will be given the day after but even though they knew that the photocopied copy won't work, they still sent us to the airport)," he said.
He said that he was actually hoping that the photocopied document would do, something that De Castro said would be worse.
"Mabuti na yung ganyan, napigil kayo nung task force na makalabas. Eh pano kung nakalabas ang mga ito, nakalusot ang peke mong passport, visa, eh patay ka na (It's good that the task force was able to stop you from leaving the country. What would happen if you left with a fake passport or visa, you're dead)," said the vice president.
Fortunately for Rhodelyn, the third of the OFW hopefuls, she was also not able pay the P10,000 that was being asked from her. She, on the other hand, was reportedly promised a pay of $200 or about P10,000 a month in the Middle East.
"Pero kahit wala kang trabaho kung P10,000 ang pinangako sayo sa Dubai, at domestic helper, hindi ganun kadali ang trabaho ng domestic helper at sa P10,000 delikado ka pa, baka umabot pa ng P5,000 lang yan, eh kung P5,000 ‘yan dito ka na lang, maghanap ka na lang ng trabaho," De Castro told her.
Moreover, he said that he doesn't know whether to pity or be irritated at them for not confirming with the POEA first.
"Next time alam na ninyo sino ang nanloloko. Matuto kayo ha (Next time you'll know if you're being fooled. Learn from this)," he said.
Meanwhile, the task force reported that they also recently caught a Singaporean national named Patricia Ling-Ling Khor who attempted to bring three Filipinas into her country through the use of tourist visas to allegedly work in her boutique, even though she actually worked in a club.
"Ang daming biktima ng ganyan sa Sinagpore, buti sana kung sa club ka lang talaga dalin, pano kung dalin sila sa prostitution den? (So many become victims of that in Singapore, at least they would be brought to a club, but what would happen if they were brought to a prostitution den?" said De Castro.
As such, he reminded all those victims of illegal recruitment to ask the concerned government agencies for help. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV
Rodel was one of the three Filipinos recently rescued from illegal recruiters by the Task Force against Illegal Recruiters headed by Vice President Noli de Castro.
As such, De Castro on Saturday warned aspiring OFWs through his radio program not to believe in recruiters offering direct hiring.
"’Wag kayo maniniwala sa direct hiring, kailangan dumaan pa rin sa Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) para ma-check ninyo. Walang mag direct-direct hiring, kalokohan ‘yun (Don't believe in direct hiring, you still need to pass through the POEA so that you can check. There's no direct hiring, that's not true)," he said.
The task force reportedly conducted an entrapment operation on Friday at the Diosdado Macapagal Airport in Clark, Pampanga to catch the illegal recruiters known as Cristina Delos Santos and Flor Corpuz Jinez, both residents of Pangasinan.
"Ang sabi nila direct hiring sila at may contact sila sa Dubai and then marami na rin daw silang napaalis (They said they hire directly and that they have a contact in Dubai and they have already deployed many workers abroad)," a task force personnel reported in De Castro’s program.
Based on the statements of the victims, the unscrupulous recruiters asked different amounts from the OFW hopefuls, ranging from P10,000 to P120,000, depending on the job applied for.
Rodel said that he got that money from his sister who is currently residing in the United States, with the hope that he would be able to work in a hotel overseas with a promised pay of P25,000 a month.
"Sabi daw niya aalis ako. "Di (ko) naman (naisip na niloloko na ako) (The recruiter said that I would be able to go abroad. I didn't think he was fooling me)," he told De Castro during the radio show.
He said it only dawned on him that the recruiter was not telling them the truth when he found out that he was given a fake visa.
A companion of Rodel said he refused to pay the P50,000 that was being asked from him until Rodel got to leave the country.
"Ang hinihingi niya po sa akin P50,000 kasama na ho lahat-lahat yun. Ang sabi ko sa kanya, kailangan muna mauna siya umalis (ung isa) (They were asking P50,000 for everything. I told them that Rodel should be able to leave first)," he said during the radio program.
After that, he questioned why the recruiters had them go back and forth from the airport, knowing that Rodel was given just a photocopied visa.
"(Pero) pinagbigyan pa namin siya ng isang pagkakataon, sabi niya bukas darating yung original, alam ninyo naman palang hindi pwede xerox copy, bakit pa kami pinapunta dito? (But we gave them another chance, they said that the original document will be given the day after but even though they knew that the photocopied copy won't work, they still sent us to the airport)," he said.
He said that he was actually hoping that the photocopied document would do, something that De Castro said would be worse.
"Mabuti na yung ganyan, napigil kayo nung task force na makalabas. Eh pano kung nakalabas ang mga ito, nakalusot ang peke mong passport, visa, eh patay ka na (It's good that the task force was able to stop you from leaving the country. What would happen if you left with a fake passport or visa, you're dead)," said the vice president.
Fortunately for Rhodelyn, the third of the OFW hopefuls, she was also not able pay the P10,000 that was being asked from her. She, on the other hand, was reportedly promised a pay of $200 or about P10,000 a month in the Middle East.
"Pero kahit wala kang trabaho kung P10,000 ang pinangako sayo sa Dubai, at domestic helper, hindi ganun kadali ang trabaho ng domestic helper at sa P10,000 delikado ka pa, baka umabot pa ng P5,000 lang yan, eh kung P5,000 ‘yan dito ka na lang, maghanap ka na lang ng trabaho," De Castro told her.
Moreover, he said that he doesn't know whether to pity or be irritated at them for not confirming with the POEA first.
"Next time alam na ninyo sino ang nanloloko. Matuto kayo ha (Next time you'll know if you're being fooled. Learn from this)," he said.
Meanwhile, the task force reported that they also recently caught a Singaporean national named Patricia Ling-Ling Khor who attempted to bring three Filipinas into her country through the use of tourist visas to allegedly work in her boutique, even though she actually worked in a club.
"Ang daming biktima ng ganyan sa Sinagpore, buti sana kung sa club ka lang talaga dalin, pano kung dalin sila sa prostitution den? (So many become victims of that in Singapore, at least they would be brought to a club, but what would happen if they were brought to a prostitution den?" said De Castro.
As such, he reminded all those victims of illegal recruitment to ask the concerned government agencies for help. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV
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