Demafelis was victim of ‘deception’ —CIDG official
A top police investigator on Friday said that slain overseas Filipino worker Joanna Demafelis was a victim of "deception" when she was referred to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Global E-Human Resources Inc. by the woman who claimed having contacts in the recruitment agency.
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Anti-Transnational Crime Unit (CIDG-ATCU) director Roque Merdegia Jr. said that Agnes Tuballes, the one who referred Demafelis, committed an act of deception because she was not an employee of the Mt. Carmel recruitment firm.
"Sila ay mga ahente lamang. Kumbaga, freelance agents," Merdegia said in an interview on "Dobol B sa News TV."
Earlier, CIDG Director Chief Superintendent Roel Obusan said, "There's already deception sa tao. Employee relationship nina Agnes Tuballes with Mount Carmel wala kasi 'di sila binabayaran."
Merdegia noted that CIDG-ATCU commonly encounters cases where OFWs are deceived by unlicensed recruitment agencies showing fake licenses, or by direct hiring schemes with deceptive contracts.
"Wala naman kaming natatanggap pa tungkol diyan sa sabwatan, pero kadalasan nga dito sa panlilinlang, panloloko, walang permit, hinihingan ng malalaking halaga, at pinapangakuan ng trabaho na hindi naman pala existing," he said.
Aspiring OFWs continue to take their chances on such schemes despite the recent string of controversies involving illegal recruiters.
On the other hand, Merdegia said that the surfacing of Tuballes brought the police one step closer to knowing how Demafelis stayed in Kuwait after her two-year contract had ended.
Authorities are also tracking down the people who recommended the employers suspected to have stuffed into a freezer Demafelis body after the crime that was only uncovered after a year.
Demafelis was supposed to return home to the Philippines after completing her two-year work contract in Kuwait. Mt. Carmel had its license canceled in 2016, two years after deploying her in May 2014.
Not a suspect
Merdegia clarified that Tuballes was not presented at Camp Crame on Thursday as a suspect but a way for her to clarify her role in Demafelis' deployment to the Middle East.
"Hindi po siya suspect, pero nananatili po siya sa aming pag-iimbestiga. Kailangan makipagtulungan pa rin po siya sa amin, he said.
"Kung meron na pong reklamo na lumutang, at siya ang inireklamo, patuloy po ang aming imbestigasyon para malaman ang kaniyang, kung meron man, liability sa kaniyang (Demafelis) family," he added.
Aside from Tuballes, two former Mt. Carmel employees presented themselves to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday to clear out suspicions.
Self-described trainee staff Marissa Ansaji Mohammad said she was tasked to give applications to aspiring OFWs and was never allowed to process application papers.
Also, Mt. Carmel's former assistant general manager Mary Gay Canlas Abrantes submitted a sworn statement to the NBI regarding the Demafelis case . —Rie Takumi/LBG/KG, GMA News
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