Teachers protest junking of case vs. ‘well-connected’ trafficker

A group of teachers, among them trafficking victims in the United States, on Wednesday protested the Department of Justice's (DOJ) dismissal of a complaint filed against alleged trafficker Isidro Rodriguez.

The Grupo ng mga Gurong Umuusig kay Rodriguez or GURO, a group of about 300 teachers based in the Philippines and the US, participated in the “dance protest” tagged as "One Billion Rising," led by OBR global director and former actress Monique Wilson.

The group said trafficked teachers also held a simultaneous gathering and activity to launch the OBR program in the US.

"We are fully aware of Rodriguez's very broad clout in different government agencies, even possibly in the US and the Philippine immigration. He could not have operated for years without them," said GURO spokesman Loel Naparanto, expressing dismay over the junking of the complaint.

A report on The FilAm Metro DC said Rodriguez is facing multiple cases of illegal recruitment, alien smuggling, visa fraud and human trafficking filed against him in the Philippines and the US. He was put behind bars briefly but was later released from detention.

According to GURO, some of their members were those brought to the US by Rodriguez with a promise of employment only to find out that there were no jobs waiting for them there.

Human trafficking cases were eventually filed against Rodriguez, both in the US and the Philippines. The DOJ, however, dismissed the first batch of trafficking complaints for lack of probable cause.

The teachers group filed a motion for reconsideration last Monday, as well as a motion for urgent resolution of at least 20 other cases of large-scale and syndicated illegal recruitment and estafa cases against Rodriguez and his other co-respondents.

Rodriguez allegedly duped hundreds of teachers by offering them fictitious jobs in the US through his agency, Renaissance Staffing Support Center, formerly Great Provider Service Expertors, which is licensed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

Rodriguez allegedly collected an average of P500,000 from each victim. His agency would allegedly traffick victims in batches, usually by 10 to 15 teachers per batch.

According to Migrante International, at least 20 batches of teachers have filed separate cases against Rodriguez. —KBK, GMA News

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