Authorities arrested an alleged illegal recruiter identified as Gie Celleros Viterbo, also known as “Ghie,” in a condominium in Pasay City.
The operation was conducted jointly by the National Bureau of Investigation–Human Trafficking Division (NBI-HTRAD) and the Department of Migrant Workers–Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (DMW-MWPB).
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who was deployed as a domestic helper to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in June 2025 but was forced to return to the Philippines in August after a disagreement with her employer.
While seeking new employment abroad, she was introduced to “Ghie,” who allegedly claimed she could facilitate her deployment to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In October 2025, the victim personally met the suspect at her condominium unit in Pasay, where she was offered a domestic helper job in Dubai with a promised monthly salary of USD 400. To speed up the process, “Ghie” reportedly used the victim’s previous employment contract as a returning worker and promised to provide new flight tickets for a connecting route from Hong Kong to Doha, Qatar, and then to Dubai.
However, during immigration screening at the airport, officers from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and DMW discovered that the victim’s documents, including her Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC), were falsified. She was prevented from leaving the country. Upon verification, DMW also found that the suspect continued recruiting the victim for another job in Lebanon, this time offering a higher monthly salary of USD 450.
Following these findings, the DMW and NBI-HTRAD held a case conference to plan an entrapment operation against the suspect. The operation led to Viterbo’s arrest inside her condominium unit in Pasay City, where authorities also rescued another woman who had been offered employment in Dubai using fake documents and OECs.
The arrested suspect was brought to the NBI-HTRAD office for booking and processing in preparation for inquest proceedings. Meanwhile, the victims were provided assistance, counseling, and formal interviews to support ongoing investigations.
Viterbo will face charges of simple illegal recruitment and acts that promote trafficking in persons.
The DMW-MWPB urged other potential victims of “Ghie” to come forward and coordinate through their official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dmwairtip to receive legal assistance and file formal complaints against the suspect.
