A Filipina recruiter and her Italian accomplice who pretended to be a lawyer easily duped their victims by offering lucrative jobs in Italy, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia.
Reports claim that the scam started in 2015 when the suspects offered Filipinos a job in Italy through “permesso di soggiorno per asilo politico” or residence permit for political asylum and “decreto flussi per lavoro stagionale” or seasonal work, in exchange of “nulla osta” or authorization papers to get Schengen visa.
According to one of the victims, overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Mark Aries Marcelo, he went home from Saudi Arabia after the suspects offered him a job in Italy.
He added that he gave the suspects P350,000 or more than Dh24,000 in August 2016 to process his papers.
“Sa kagustuhan ko po na mapaganda ang mapupuntahan ay nagbaka-sakali ako na makapunta sa Italy gamit ang perang naipon ko pero naloko lang po at nauwi sa wala ang perang pinagpaguran ko,” Marcelo told ABS-CBN News.
An agent in Milan, Melody Echague, also reported the scam to the Philippine Consulate General.
Echague claimed that she was unaware of the scam. She detailed that she recommended the suspects to some of her friends in Switzerland who wanted to go to Italy.
“Nagbigay po ako sa recruiter ng mga tao para sa pag-file ng stagionale paper para sa mga taga Geneva, Switzerland. Sana po matulungan ako na makuha sa kaniya (recruiter) ang ibang pera,” Echague said.
Another victim, Michael Lester Domingo, detailed that he had given the suspects more than P900,000 or more than Dh63,000 to process his documents. The suspects promised Domingo that he will be able to go abroad within two to three months, however, years passed and the suspects can no longer be contacted.
“Noong una, 7k euro po hiningi. Tapos humingi ng humingi ng bayad. Almost 15k po nabayad namin. May mga ipinadala pang mga contract saka mga nulla osta. Fake naman pala,” Domingo said.
Evidence showed that the suspects’ relatives may be involved in the scam.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III encouraged the victims to file charges against the Filipino and Italian national.
“Unang-una, habulin natin lahat ng mga illegal recruiter na ‘yan. At para mahabol natin sila, kailangan makausap natin ‘yung mga biktima para sila ang magbigay ng ebidensiya laban sa mga illegal recruiter,” Bello said.
Bello added that he has sent President Rodrigo Duterte a proposal to create a task force against illegal recruiters.
