31 women rescued from illegal recruiters

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) rescued Thursday night 31 women who were kept against their will by an illegal recruiter in a two-story apartment in Manila for several months.

Head Agent Regner Peneza of the NBI’s Counter-Intelligence Division (CID) said they arrested Marieta Rosita at her residence along Angel Linao street in Malate. The women, one of whom is a minor, were housed in an apartment located across Rosita’s house.

Apart from Rosita, the NBI is also contemplating filing charges of serious illegal detention and large-scale illegal recruitment against her alleged accomplice, Evelyn Pamoso of Baseco Compound, Tondo, who remains at large. The criminal cases might be filed either before the Manila prosecutor’s office or the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The suspects allegedly recruit women from Mindanao, promising them work as domestic helpers in the Middle East and a monthly salary of $200. The recruiters told the women they were not required to pay a placement fee, and any expenses incurred would be deducted from their salaries.

The suspects informed the women that their working passports were ready and that they should go to Manila to undergo the pre-departure orientation seminar, which is a requirement for any overseas worker.

“However, when they arrived in Manila, they learned that the suspects could only give them a tourist or visitor’s visa and that there are members of their syndicate who would wait for them in the Middle East and bring them to their employers, who (then) confiscate their passports and sometimes not give them their year’s worth of salary,” Peneza said.

The victims said they were locked inside the apartment, with a guard standing outside. At times, they would only eat one full meal a day. “Sometimes, two women would be allowed to buy food but they would be warned that if they try to escape the other girls would be punished at their expense,” Peneza said.

On March 10, five of the girls were able to escape while the guard was asleep. They were brought to the NBI-CID, which conducted a two-day surveillance before conducting a raid.

The CID agents staged the raid along with those from the NBI’s Violence Against Women and Children Division and Anti-Human Trafficking Division.