Alleged illegal recruiter indicted

CEBU, Philippines - An alleged illegal recruiter who defrauded more than P1 million from at least 11 applicants who were promised high earning jobs abroad was indicted by the Talisay City Prosecutor’s Office for large scale illegal recruitment.

Talisay City Prosecutor Marshall Rubia approved the indictment of Mechel Lopuz for violation of Republic Act 8042 before the Regional Trial Court in which she was not allowed to post bail.Lopuz was caught in an entrapment operation conducted by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-7 last May at the Aua-Gem International Manpower Corporation office in barangay Tabunok, Talisay City.

The operation stemmed from the complaints filed by Arlene Tuazon and 10 other victims of the recruitment agency who were promised high-paying jobs abroad but were not deployed in spite of having paid the required amount.In fact, the agency allegedly managed by Ana Liza Laguna had already collected a total of P1,121,293 from all of them.

Tuazon said that from her alone the agency was able to collect a total of P163,825.According to Tuazon, she was promised a job in Cyprus and was scheduled to leave the country last March 23. She said she paid P5,000 as processing fee and another P15,000 for contract signing.She also obtained a loan worth P90,000 for her visa which was allegedly facilitated by the agency.

When the scheduled departure came, Tuazon said she was told by Laguna that her flight was moved.The agency again demanded P5,270 for her airfare which she made only a down payment of P3,000. Suspecting that she is being deceived, Tuazon verified with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and found out that the agency was suspended and is not allowed to recruit workers abroad.An entrapment was immediately hatched which resulted to the arrest of Lopuz who received the marked money.

Lopuz claimed that she is only a data encoder of the agency and that she had no knowledge in the alleged illegal recruitment.However, the victims said that Lopuz was one of those who interviewed them. Laguna was not around during the entrapment but the prosecutor’s office said she will be prosecuted separately. — Fred P. Languido/MEEV    (THE FREEMAN)