Offshore Staff - 71 'illegal Recruitment Victims' Rescued In Raid

By - Arianne Caryl N. Casas

Offshore Staff

DAVAO CITY -- Seventy-one women believed to be illegally recruited for a job in Middle East were rescued in this city on Thursday following a tip received by the regional Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA). 

The victims were recruited through an agency under 5 Star Agency Manpower, which has 10 registered branches with its main office located in Manila.

The information was referred to the Regional Interagency Council Against Trafficking-Integrated Action Network (Riaction) and the National Bureau of Information (NBI) Davao Region

.

The victims were rescued at Juna Subdivision on Loreto Street around 4 p.m. Thursday. 

NBI spokesperson Arcelito Albao said after a week of surveillance, they found out that the agency’s recruitment operation was illegal.

The agency reportedly has no authorization from the POEA to recruit in Davao City. Records show that the agency's branches are in General Santos, Koronadal, Zamboanga City, Cotabato City, Bacolod and Batangas.

"Ginadala ni sila diri sa Davao para magpa-medical daw tapos ginadala na pud sa Butuan para didto na i-process ang ilang mga requirements, like passport (The victims are brought in Davao City for medical exams and brought in Butuan for the processing of passport)," he said.

Albao said the act of transporting the victims to Davao City is a violation, since under the law, an agency can only recruit and do all transactions in the area where its branches are located.

"Wala man sila Davao-based ug Butuan-based branches so bawal gyud siya (They don’t have Davao-based and Butuan-based branches)," he said.

He added that a large-scale illegal recruitment case will be filed against the agency.

He also said they are still establishing if there is human trafficking in the agency's activities.

But Raida Dauk, caretaker of the 71 women, said their operation is legal, claiming they have a license from POEA. She said the recruits have been staying in the apartment since December last year.

"Stay-in sila dito. Libre lahat from food, lahat," she said. "Marami na kaming napalipad, inaalagaan naman namin sila habang nandito pa."

She said most of the women are from Cotabato City. They are recruited as domestic helpers for Dubai, Bahrain and Kuwait, among others.

A certain Normel Lamela, a staff of the agency, said the recruits stayed in Davao City for medical examination and they are set to go to Manila next week for finalization of their deployment.

A woman, who refused to be named, said she has been staying in the apartment for two months already. She added that she was recruited by a friend in Cotabato. 

She said everything is legal so she is confident everything would be fine.

 

Category - Offshore Staff

Source - http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2012/06/07/71-illegal-recruitment-victims-rescued-raid-225737